Hernández: What are Dodgers waiting for? Hurry up and re-sign Dave Roberts

Simply lengthen his contract already.

There’s no excuse for Dave Roberts to be a lame-duck supervisor at this level.

The lockout is over. The phrases of baseball’s new collective bargaining settlement are in place. The free-agent market is about to reopen.

The Dodgers are negotiating an extension with Roberts and other people accustomed to the state of affairs are hopeful an settlement might be reached quickly.

Good.

Gamers shall be reporting to the Dodgers’ spring-training facility in Arizona within the coming days and Roberts shouldn’t should spend any portion of camp with out a new deal. His contract expires after the upcoming season.

In a typical 12 months, finalizing an extension for a profitable supervisor could be as a wise public-relations transfer.

In a 12 months like this one, it additionally affords sensible advantages.

With their offseason interrupted by the lockout, the Dodgers have loads of objects remaining on their to-do checklist. Taking good care of the best of their selections would free them to work on harder duties.

Andrew Friedman has stated he envisions Roberts as a part of the group’s future. Roberts has stated he trusts the group’s homeowners and executives to increase their association. So what’s the wait?

As soon as they reward their World Collection-winning supervisor with the contract he has earned, they may flip their consideration to re-signing Clayton Kershaw.

As soon as they renew their dedication to a tradition developed below Roberts’ watch, they may pursue former Nationwide League MVP Freddie Freeman.

As soon as they rearm their chief with the credibility required to steer a star-studded roster, they may rebuild a bullpen that would lose nearer Kenley Jansen.

As vulnerable because the Dodgers are to overthinking, they need to perceive that typically the perfect decisions are the obvious ones.

They made the plain alternative once they traded for Mookie Betts and the All-Star outfielder promptly delivered them a World Collection. They might be making one other apparent alternative right here, and Roberts would place them to win extra championships.

Roberts has a 542-330 report over seven seasons and his profession successful proportion of .622 ranks fifth all-time, forward of the likes of Joe McCarthy and Earl Weaver.

His 44 postseason victories are tied for the fourth-most in historical past, behind solely Joe Torre, Tony La Russa and Bobby Cox.

Roberts is one among three managers to steer the Dodgers to a World Collection championship. The others had been Walter Alston and Tom Lasorda.

The expertise and depth of the rosters Roberts has managed shouldn’t diminish his accomplishments.

He has maintained a heat disposition over time, even when he was blamed for concepts that originated within the group’s data-driven entrance workplace. He has gracefully handled the pressures of main what’s arguably the preferred skilled sports activities franchise within the nation’s second-largest media market.

If the championship the Dodgers gained within the pandemic-shortened 2020 season was the group’s crowning achievement below the possession of Guggenheim Baseball Administration, their trademark is their clubhouse atmosphere.

The tradition displays the management of gamers corresponding to Kershaw and Betts, in addition to the transparency of Friedman.

Roberts has performed a serious function on this too.

He has helped combine high-ceiling prospects corresponding to Cody Bellinger and the since-departed Corey Seager. He has given confidence to the late bloomers corresponding to Max Muncy and Chris Taylor.

He has maintained concord on groups which have taken within the superstars of their primes corresponding to Manny Machado and declining however proud veterans corresponding to Albert Pujols.

When the group wins, he’s fast to redirect consideration from himself to his gamers.

“I believe the underside line is that now we have actually good gamers,” he stated throughout the Dodgers’ championship run in 2020. “I belief them they usually’re executing, they’re competing, they’re enjoying each single pitch from the defensive aspect to the offensive aspect to on the bases. I discuss rather a lot about not solely having the perfect gamers, however the smartest gamers.”

And the Dodgers have the appropriate supervisor. Now, they should do proper by him. They haven’t any cause to not.