After falling short of repeating as World Series champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers entered the offseason with the potential for significant roster turnover.
The club initially saw 11 players reach free agency last week, including most notably Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw and Corey Seager. The group has since expanded by three, with Joe Kelly, Scott Alexander and Jimmie Sherfy now on the market as well.
While the player personnel could look different next year, the same can’t be said for other areas of the organization. Several executives have indicated they want to remain with the Dodgers after declining opportunities to interview for positions elsewhere.
Furthermore, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman anticipates the entire coaching staff will return under manager Dave Roberts for the 2022 season, via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic:
Andrew Friedman said he expects the full Dodgers coaching staff back for 2022.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) November 11, 2021
The Dodgers tied a franchise record with 106 wins this past season and were heavy favorites to capture back-to-back titles, but did not get past the eventual World Series champion Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series.
While a loss of that nature could lead to coaching staff changes, Roberts will return for his seventh season and have his full supporting cast with him.
That includes bench coach Bob Geren, hitting coaches Brant Brown and Robert Van Scoyoc, assistant hitting coach Aaron Bates, pitching coach Mark Prior, assistant pitching coach Connor McGuiness, first base coach Clayton McCullough, third base coach Dino Ebel, bullpen coach Josh Bard and game planning coach Danny Lehmann.
Roberts has one year remaining on a four-year extension signed after the 2018 season, but hopes to discuss a new contract with the Dodgers at some point in the offseason.
Friedman: Roberts, Dodgers coaching staff ‘really good at making decisions’
After being a constant target of criticism for some of his in-game decisions in the postseason, Friedman gave Roberts and the rest of the Dodgers’ coaching staff a vote of confidence during his end-of-season press conference.
“As I’ve said in the past, there are a lot of things that happen in the course of a game that personally I disagree with, and oftentimes they work out,” Friedman said.
“So many decisions that are made are in that middle of 40-60, 45-55. Very few things are on extremes, so being in the dugout, you have a different feel for those things than you do sitting in the stands.
“Things that come up and factors that play out, I don’t know about until after the game. I think they’re really good at making decisions.”
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