GLENDALE, Ariz. – After a flurry of roster moves over the past two offseasons, the Dodgers have finalized one more contract to bring it all together, coming to terms on a four-year deal that will make Dave Roberts MLB’s highest paid manager per season, according to multiple outlets Monday.
The New York Post and The Athletic both reported that Roberts will make slightly more than $8 million per season in a deal that replaces his contract for 2025 while adding three more seasons to keep the two-time World Series winner on the bench through 2028.
Roberts’ per-season season pay surpasses the previous high of $8 million per season the Chicago Cubs are paying to manager Craig Counsell, whose deal signed before the 2024 season was for five years.
Roberts had been set to make $4 million over the final year of his previous deal.
Roberts’ Dodgers are set to face Counsell’s Cubs March 18 and 19 in Tokyo to open the 2025 regular season.
“I just think it all comes down to value,” Roberts said earlier this spring. “And I think whatever anyone does, they want their value.
“… It’s not (the 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.”
The Dodgers have reached the playoffs in every season Roberts has been the manager, going 851-506 (.627) in nine seasons, while winning eight National League West titles. He has guided the team to the World Series four times, including the title in 2020, as well as last season’s championship in a masterful managing job as injuries mounted, especially among the pitching staff.
The Dodgers were nearly eliminated by the San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series but won the final two games of the matchup to advance. Counting those two victories, the Dodgers closed out the playoffs on a 10-3 run to win the eighth title in franchise history.
Roberts turned a series of bullpen games into a title run that ended in a five-game World Series triumph against the New York Yankees.
Roberts has matched Tommy Lasorda’s total World Series titles and is two behind franchise leader Walter Alston.
The Dodgers, who depart for Japan on Wednesday for a pair of exhibition games and the two games against the Cubs, have not yet announced the Roberts deal.
This story will be updated.
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