Roberts Redemption: Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts Eyeing Championship…

Farhan Zaidi was replaced atop the Giants baseball operations department by Buster Posey at the end of this season after six year in San Francisco. The next destination for Zaidi might be one of his previous employers.

Zaidi and the Dodgers reportedly talked about a return to Los Angeles, Fabian Ardaya and Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic reported this week.

No deal has been finalized, and the role Zaidi would play in the Dodgers’ front office is unclear. But the Dodgers would be a logical landing spot for the former Athletics, Dodgers and Giants executive, who lost his job with San Francisco in September.

Zaidi was the Dodgers general manager from 2015-18, working under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.

Dave Roberts met with reporters in Tokyo during a trip to Japan which included filming a television spot for a sponsor, per Stephen Wade at Associated Press. During said meeting with reporters, Roberts also reiterated that Shohei Ohtani will not be ready to pitch when the Dodgers play the Cubs on March 18-19 in Tokyo, but that he would be ready to hit after left shoulder surgery in November.

From Wade:

“I don’t think that’s going to happen. I expect him to be in the lineup as a hitter,” Roberts said. “But as far as the pitching. He hasn’t pitched in over a year. We have to manage how many innings he has for 2025. If we start him in March he won’t be able to sustain that through October.”

Now retired outfielder Kevin Kiermaier was a guest on pitcher Corey Kluber’s ‘Casa de Klub’ podcast last week. He touched on several topics, including playing for the Dodgers for the final three months of this career. Here is what he said about Roberts.

“He’s had a lot of talent come through those doors through the years, but he’s very good with communicating with guys, just having those conversations more times than not. He knew what he needed to say. I feel like a lot of guys can hold back in certain situations, but for him, he’s been there, done that, been around a while where timing is key with those things. I love playing for him. I love people who care, and he cared more than anybody out there.”