Having just followed up a second straight World Series title by nabbing the best hitter and the best closer in MLB free agency, it's safe to say that Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is on top of the baseball world. But if we've learned anything about this team by now, it's that "complacent" is not a word in their vocabulary. So, naturally, Roberts wants more — he wants world domination.
"I want to manage the Olympic team," he told the California Post this week. "That's what I want to do. In L.A., I want to manage that team. I went to school here (at UCLA). I manage the Dodgers. It's a no-brainer."
A little bit presumptive, to be sure; I'm not sure anyone should really be referring to themselves as "a no-brainer" before even being granted a job interview. Then again, Roberts does have a point here: He's the manager of the hometown team, one that just so happens to be running roughshod over the sport at the moment. There's a certain poetry to naming him manager of Team USA at the 2028 Olympics.
Unfortunately, no amount of poetry can allow this to happen. Is Roberts qualified? No doubt. But letting him get his hands on the U.S. national team, just as the best players in MLB are all made eligible to participate in Olympic competition, is a recipe for letting the Dodgers stretch their dynasty even further.
Dave Roberts wants to manage Team USA at the 2028 Olympics — and get a head start on Dodgers recruitment
After serving as a full-time Olympic sport from 1992-2008, baseball wasn't part of the Games in 2012, 2016 or 2024. But it's set to come back with the Olympics returning to the States, and it could be better than ever: While only amateurs and pros not on their teams' 40-man rosters are currently allowed to participate, the chairman of the LA28 Olympic committee is pushing for MLB players to be made eligible in 2028, and Rob Manfred is at least open to the idea.
It would be an exciting development for the game on the whole, but a disaster if Roberts were allowed to get hold of the U.S. roster. We've already seen international play serve as a de facto recruitment effort in the NBA, where coaches and star players who don't usually share a locker room start bonding and swapping stories and thinking that maybe playing together someday wouldn't be such a bad idea. Why wouldn't the same hold true for MLB?
The 2028 Olympics will already be an advertisement for the Dodgers, with Chavez Ravine the perfect setting and current members of L.A.'s star-studded roster like Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Tucker presumably taking part. What better way for Roberts to start greasing the wheels for the next wave of talent to follow then by showing them just how player-friendly a manager he can be? And the 2028 free agency class will give him no shortage of opportunities.
Potential MLB stars Dave Roberts could lure to the Dodgers in 2028
Seriously, just look at the players who might be hitting the market at the end of the 2028 season, just months after a potential Olympic experience either playing for or against Roberts in sunny Los Angeles.
- Braves OF Ronald Acuña Jr.
- Orioles INF Gunnar Henderson
- Mets 3B Bo Bichette
- Astros DH Yordan Alvarez
- Astros RHP Hunter Brown
- Giants RHP Logan Webb
- Mariners RHP George Kirby
- Royals LHP Cole Ragans
- Nationals SS CJ Abrams
- Royals 1B Vinnie Pasquantino
- Twins OF Byron Buxton
And that's just an abbreviated list! Plenty of these players, Henderson in particular, could find themselves as part of Roberts' Team USA roster, getting an up close and personal look at his managerial style — and how often winning follow him wherever he goes.
Would any efforts to lure future free agents to the Dodgers be tampering? Of course ... technically. But the reality is that these conversations are happening all the time, and if you don't think Roberts would use that opportunity to make his day job even more successful, I have a bridge to sell you. As the old saying goes: If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying, and Los Angeles is having a nice enough time as it is right now.