Amidst a disappointing Dodgers bullpen, Alex Vesia was one of the lone bright spots in 2025. He appeared in 68 regular season games, trailing only Anthony Banda for most on the team, and was one of just three relievers to have a sub-3.50 ERA while pitching in at least 55 innings. Although Vesia was away from the team during the World Series due to a family tragedy, his no. 51 was commemorated by not just Dodgers relievers but Blue Jays relievers as well during the series.
Vesia was coming off of a career
year in 2024, registering a career high in both innings and strikeouts while recording a career best 1.76 ERA. He served as the closer for the finale of the Tokyo Series and began his season on a strong note, posting a 2.38 ERA over his first 12 games of the season with his team posting a 9-3 record in games he played.
Vesia experienced a pair of hiccups against both the Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks on the road, giving up two runs in one inning across each game, and endured a frustrating 16 game span that saw him post a 3.95 ERA while giving up five home runs across 13 2/3 innings April 22 until the end of May.
While the Dodgers experienced a summer that they’d like to forget and as the bullpen continued to add on agonizing defeat after the other, Vesia was the black sheep of the group, serving as one of the only reliable arms the Dodgers could count on.
From June 1 until the end of July, the Dodgers bullpen as a unit slumped to a 17-10 record with a 4.45 ERA, managing to convert just 16 saves over that span. Vesia was the polar opposite as over his next 23 games, the Dodgers managed to post an 18-5 record in games he appeared, posting a remarkable 1.37 and 1.30 FIP, striking out 27 compared to just 4 walks over his next 19 2/3 innings. Vesia was the second most valuable reliever over that span in terms of fWAR, trailing only All-Star reliever Adrián Morejón of the San Diego Padres, and his ERA was 19th best among 188 qualified relievers.
As strong of a start to the summer as Vesia had in comparison to the rest of the bullpen, it quickly tapered off once the calendar turned to August, as he posted a 4.70 ERA in his next eight games, including a four game stretch where he allowed runs in each. He struck out seven while walking five and putting two men on base via hit by pitch over 7 2/3 innings. During the Dodgers road series in San Diego, Vesia felt some tightness to his side while playing catch, and he was later placed on the injured list on Aug. 26 with a right oblique strain.
Vesia returned to the bullpen on Sept. 9, and outside of a blowup outing against Arizona during the final week of the regular season, he allowed one run over seven full innings, striking out 11 and walking three.
Vesia was the victim from one of two meltdown eighth innings in the two Wild Card games against the Cincinnati Reds, but he quickly turned around over his next five games in both the NLDS and NLCS, tossing three scoreless innings while recording a win in both series. The Dodgers were once again in the World Series for a second straight season, but they would have to march on without one of their best relievers.
The day before Game 1 of the World Series, the Dodgers announced that Vesia would be away from the team to tend to a “deeply personal family matter.” Both Dodgers and Blue Jays relievers sported a written no. 51 on the side of their caps to pay respect to Vesia, with Toronto manager John Schneider acknowledging the empathy and compassion his players expressed towards the Dodger southpaw. Both sides understood that his situation was much more important than any game in the series could ever be.
“That was cool, when I realized that,” said manager John Schneider. “I think we have a lot of good people, a lot of good humans, in there that are husbands, fathers and all of that kind of stuff, who just appreciate what we do and the hardships that come with it. It’s cool. They’ve got veteran guys over there, too, who respect the game and understand how to play it. It’s nice.”
Amidst the hoopla and celebration that came with the Dodgers repeating as World Series champions, Vesia and his wife, Kayla, would announce a week later that the two had lost their baby daughter, Sterling Sol, on Oct. 26. The couple received an overwhelming amount of support from across the baseball world, as they wrote on their Instagram post, “Thank you to the Dodgers for their understanding and support during this time. Our baseball family showed up for us and we wouldn’t be able to do this without them. Thank you Dodger Nation, Blue Jays organization and all baseball fans for your love and support. We have seen ALL your messages, comments and posts. It’s brought us so much comfort.”
2025 particulars
Age: 29
Stats: 4-2, 3.02 ERA, 0.989 WHIP, 3.77 FIP, 80 K, 22 BB, 59 2/3 IP, 5 SV, 138 ERA+, 1.0 rWAR, 1.0 fWAR
Postseason: 2-0, 3.86 ERA, 1.286 WHIP, 3.35 FIP, 4 K, 3 BB, 4 2/3 IP
Salary: $2,250,000
Game of the year
Vesia’s best game of the 2025 season came on June 11 during the Dodgers first series against the Padres in San Diego. Vesia recorded a perfect ninth inning where he struck out the side, collecting his third save of the season in a 5-2 Dodgers victory.
Roster status
The Dodgers exercised their club option on Vesia for the 2026 season, and he will make $3.65 million.
