Dodgers and manager Roberts agree to a four-year contract
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers maintained their objective was to sign manager Dave Roberts to a long-term contract since their season ended in late October. They were confident they would cross it off their lengthy off-season to-do list. It was just a matter of time.
And, on Monday, over a month after the team’s season ended with another World Series appearance under Roberts, the Dodgers announced they signed their manager to a four-year deal.
Roberts was already under contract for the 2019 season after the Dodgers picked up the $1.1-million team option on his previous contract in early November. The new pact runs through the ’22 season, giving Roberts three more years under contract.
“When I was hired to lead this team three years ago, I said at the time that managing the Dodgers is truly the opportunity of a lifetime and I feel the exact same way today,” Roberts said in a team-issued statement.
“We’ve worked hard to develop a team and culture that will put us in position to win the World Series every season, but we still have yet to achieve our ultimate goal and that is what drives me each day.”
Roberts, 46, stands to become the first person to manage the Dodgers for more than five seasons since Tommy Lasorda, who managed the club for 20 years. Roberts has led the Dodgers to three straight National League West titles and two consecutive National League pennants — becoming the first Dodgers manager to do so since Lasorda in 1977 and ’78.
He was named the NL Manager of the Year in his first season in 2016.
“Keeping Doc as our leader on the field was a top priority this off-season and now that we’ve accomplished that we are excited to collectively shift all of our focus to doing all we can to bring a World Championship to our passionate fans,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said.