Unless the internet has not been available to you for the past couple of months, it is pretty clear the 2024-25 offseason for Major League Baseball has been spectacular for one team: the Los Angeles Dodgers. They won the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes, added Blake Snell, Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, and brought back Teoscar Hernandez and Blake Trienen. And by the way, they still have Mookie Betts, the only member of the 50/50 club in Shohei Ohtani, and Freddie Freeman, who arguably hit a more iconic World Series home run than Kirk Gibson.
What does any of this have to do with the Philadelphia Phillies? Let’s start with the manager leading the Avengers of baseball, Dave Roberts.
He has been a manager of the Padres and Dodgers for almost a decade now and was the first manager of Asian heritage to lead his team to a World Series in 2017. And we have seen the success he has had since. Some may forget he had a stolen base as a player in 2004 in the American League Championship Series with the Red Sox that helped extend their run and ultimately win the World Series.
Phillies sign Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’ son to minor league deal
Now let’s get back on topic. Roberts has a son named Cole, who is making the rounds in the minor leagues. At 24 years old, Cole Roberts can play second base, shortstop and even a little bit of the outfield, on the left side. He went to college to play baseball at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles and, in 2019, was drafted by the team of his father’s first managerial stint, the San Diego Padres, in the MLB Amateur Draft.
Per Steve Potter of Phillies Baseball Fan, the Phillies have signed the son of the Dodgers’ manager to a minor league contract. Thus far in his professional career, Roberts has played all his affiliated minor league ball with the Arizona Diamondbacks. After being released by the Diamondbacks last summer and playing in the Frontier League, he will look to compete for a permanent spot in the Phillies farm system during spring training in Clearwater.
When he joined the Diamondbacks organization in 2023, Roberts hit a ridiculous .400 with a 1.034 OPS in 19 games in Rookie ball. He came back down to Earth last season, hitting just .196 with a .554 OPS in 40 games between Single- and High-A. He then went on to hit .222 with a .539 OPS in 14 games with the Washington WildThings in the Frontier League.
Hopefully the background between the father and the son sums up how cool this opportunity can be for Cole Roberts and for the Phillies fans rooting him on. Spring training is just around the corner, and lots of storylines will be in play. Which one of the aspiring Pipeline prospects can make the jump to the majors? How will the stars warm up during this time?
Now we can add a new one: Will Dave Roberts’ son make an impact across the country from where his dad manages the Los Angeles superteam?
