Despite a swift NLDS exit following a 111-win regular season, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts will "100 percent" remain with the team in 2023, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Tuesday (per The Athletic). Roberts signed a three-year contract extension that runs through 2025 during spring training.
"Hugely disappointing how it ended," Roberts said following his team's NLDS Game 4 loss to the Padres on Saturday. "... There's certainly fans that are going to think it was a wasted season. I don't think there's anybody in our clubhouse, in uniform, or with the Dodgers, that feels that way. But every person has their opinions, which they're entitled."
The Dodgers have never wavered in their commitment to Roberts even though there seems to be questions about his job security every year. His postseason moves are frequently criticized, though that's true for every manager. All you need to do is turn on a postseason game to see a questionable decision. Roberts is hardly alone there.
"I don't think the criticism Dave receives is fair," Friedman said Tuesday. "It's human nature to point your fingers at someone, but this was an organizational failure in the posteason."
Roberts, 50, just completed his seventh season with the Dodgers. The team has been wildly successful those seven years, posting a 653-381 (.632) regular season record with six NL West titles, three National League pennants, and a World Series title in 2020.
Four teams -- Marlins, Rangers, Royals, White Sox -- are currently without a manager. Also, the Blue Jays have not yet committed to interim manager John Schneider on a permanent basis.
