Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Brandon Gomes spent the offseason assuring manager Dave Roberts would be signed to a contract extension at some point before his current deal expires with the 2025 season.
Roberts himself expressed confidence in that becoming a reality. The trio seemingly was in agreement that negotiations could wait until after the Dodgers completed roster construction for the year.
That has seemingly been settled for roughly one month, but it wasn’t until this week that it was reported Roberts was on the verge of a new Dodgers contract.
According to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, Friedman said the target is to have Roberts signed to an extension before the Dodgers leave for the Tokyo Series:
“That’s the goal,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told The Athletic on Friday.
The Dodgers’ final Cactus League game of the year is Tuesday, and they’re scheduled to depart for Tokyo on Feb. 12.
Roberts is entering a 10th season as Dodgers manager and has plenty of experience with his current contractual status. He’s previously signed two contract extensions during his tenure as Dodgers manager.
In 2018, Roberts agreed to a four-year extension in December, just before the annual MLB Winter Meetings. In 2022 he signed an extension two weeks before the start of the regular season.
Roberts has a career .627 winning percentage is the highest of any manager in MLB history (minimum 315 games). It’s bested only by Negro League managers Bullet Rogan (.698), Vic Harris (.663) and Rube Foster (.633).
The Dodgers have won the National League West in eight of his first nine seasons, and he’s led them to four World Series appearances while capturing two titles in the process. Roberts and the Dodgers arguably would have won the World Series in 2017 as well if not for the Houston Astros’ cheating scandal.
Dave Roberts expected to break Craig Counsell’s record
Although he recently explained it was not a focus or goal with negotiations, Roberts is expected to surpass Craig Counsell as the highest-paid manager in MLB history.
Counsell currently holds the record with his five-year, $40 million contract signed with the Chicago Cubs prior to the start of the 2024. Roberts is projected to surpass Counsell’s $8 million average annual value and potentially sign for more years as well.
Roberts had a $3.25 million salary for the 2024 season, which ranked 11th among all managers.
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