October is coming. That means the year is about to begin in earnest for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
With one more win over the San Diego Padres on Thursday, the Dodgers would lock up their 11th National League West title of the past 12 years. They’re the most dominant regular season team of the century in Major League Baseball, but it hasn’t translated to the playoffs.
The Dodgers won the World Series in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, which counts like any other ring, but they feel the pressure to validate that title with a full-season one sometime very soon. And no one feels the pressure like manager Dave Roberts.
Roberts has been the Dodgers manager since 2016. He’s overseen an unprecedented run of regular-season success. But it’s all about championships in L.A., and one insider believes a postseason failure this season could have heavy implications for Roberts.
On Thursday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic named Roberts as one of the managers who is “under scrutiny” as the MLB season winds down, saying it could take a playoff series win to preserve the skipper’s job.
“Blowing a four-game lead to the Padres with eight to play would have placed Roberts in jeopardy, but the Dodgers can clinch the NL West with a win on Thursday,” Rosenthal said. “A third straight upset defeat in the DS, however, is still possible. And such an outcome might compel president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman to make a change.”
“Roberts, 52, is under contract through next season, which raises another question: If the Dodgers keep him, would they sign him to another extension or allow him to start 2025 as a lame duck? Based on his accomplishments, Roberts could rightly ask for more than the $ 8 million average annual salary the Cubs gave Counsell.”
Such is the dilemma of being the Dodgers: How much credit do you give your manager for your team’s dominance? Is Roberts the driving force behind regular season success, the guilty party for postseason disappointment, or, most likely, a little bit of both?
Rosenthal also pointed out that Roberts’ Dodgers have 51 more wins than any other team since the beginning of his managerial tenure. That’s not something that can be easily replaced. Roberts is a part of the fabric of L.A.’s winning culture at this point.
As is always the case in baseball, winning solves everything. If the Dodgers win it all this year, any extension talks with Roberts will likely be enjoyable for both sides. If they lose, though, it appears anything is on the table.
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