ENCINITAS — Fresh off his second World Series title as Dodgers manager, Cardiff resident Dave Roberts has agreed to a four-year contract extension worth more than $32 million, it was reported Monday.
The Los Angeles Times reported the deal includes a record-setting $8.1 million annual salary. The newspaper quoted a source familiar with the agreement who was not authorized to speak publicly.
The extension was expected to be completed before the season opener later this month.
Roberts’ $32.4 million contract is smaller than the five-year, $40 million deal the Chicago Cubs gave Craig Counsell last year to lure him from the Milwaukee Brewers, according to the Times. However, the agreement makes Roberts the highest-paid manager per year, surpassing Counsell’s $8 million annual haul.
The 52-year-old Roberts, who lives in Cardiff in the offseason, is entering his 10th season as Dodger manager and was in the final year of a three-year extension he signed before the 2022 season.
Under his leadership, the Dodgers have won two World Series titles in the past five years — one in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season — and consistently remained among baseball’s top teams.
Last October, the Dodgers faced elimination in the National League Division Series against the Padres, fueling speculation about Roberts’ job security. But Roberts then guided an injury-plagued team past San Diego before the Dodgers defeated the New York Mets in the N.L. Championship Series and the New York Yankees in the World Series.
Roberts is one of five managers in MLB history with five 100-win seasons, and he won the 2016 N.L Manager of the Year award. His 56 postseason wins rank sixth all-time, just one behind Bruce Bochy among active managers.
