Roberts Expects Rivals to Copy Brewers' Athletic, Full-Field Blueprint

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes the Milwaukee Brewers have given the rest of baseball a blueprint to follow. Speaking on the Baseball Tonight podcast, Roberts said he expects rival clubs to try to get more athletic and to place a greater emphasis on defence and full-field offence after Milwaukee's championship run. The Brewers swept the Dodgers out of the National League Championship Series on their way to the franchise's first World Series title, and Roberts pointed to a string of game-changing defensive plays as the difference. He name-checked Brice Turang taking outs away, Jackson Chourio and Sal Frelick robbing Freddie Freeman, and a catch by Lara at Dodger Stadium in Game 3. For Roberts, those moments captured a style of baseball that runs against much of the past decade's thinking, built on range, awareness and putting the ball in play rather than waiting for the long ball. The Dodgers, beaten in the NLCS, now head into an offseason shaped by that lesson. If Roberts is right, the copycat effect could reshape rosters across the league this winter.