The Los Angeles Dodgers are less than two weeks away from the start of the 2025 regular season in Japan for the Tokyo Series, and manager Dave Roberts is entering the final year of the three-year contract extension he signed in 2022.
A new deal for Roberts should be on the horizon, as re-signing him is an obvious move for the Dodgers. This situation is not entirely uncharted territory, as Roberts previously signed an extension on March 25, 2022. However, this year’s negotiations are complicated by the Dodgers beginning the season a week earlier due to the Tokyo Series.
Regardless of when Roberts finalizes a new contract, he is seeking a deal that reflects his accomplishments as the Dodgers’ manager. Like any professional, Roberts simply wants to be paid his worth.
If that happens to be the highest-paid manager in MLB, so be it, but it is not an outcome he is intentionally aiming for, according to Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“That’s a hard question,” he said. “I just think it all comes down to value. And I think whatever anyone does, they want their value. That’s kind of where I’m at. I’m hopeful things get done.
“But it’s not (a goal) to be the highest-paid manager. If that’s the fallout, fine. But that’s not why I do my job. I do my job because I love baseball, I love the Dodgers and I love the players. But I do feel the body of work is pretty dang good.”
Given the Dodgers’ aggressive spending over the past two years, securing a manager they have trusted for many seasons should not be an issue.
Roberts is currently the 11th-highest-paid manager in MLB, earning an annual salary of $3.25 million. To surpass Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell’s record-setting $8 million annual salary, he would need a significant raise.
Dave Roberts’ potential contract extension vs. career earnings as a player
Roberts earned approximately $23.55 million over his 10-year playing career, with the bulk coming from the three-year, $18 million contract he signed with the San Francisco Giants in 2006.
While his total earnings as the Dodgers’ manager remain undisclosed, his next contract extension will likely surpass his career earnings as a player. Using Counsell’s five-year, $40 million contract as a benchmark, Roberts’ new deal is expected to far exceed the largest contract he signed during his playing days.
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