Michael Kopech did some heavy lifting during the Dodgers’ championship run in 2024, pitching in 10 of their 16 postseason games. However, injuries defined his 2025 season, and sidelined him for 77 percent of games this season.
The Dodgers slow-played Kopech during spring training, dealing with fatigue from the previous October, which left him well behind during camp in Arizona. He started the season on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement, was transferred to the 60-day injured list on May
1, then activated on June 7.
A torn meniscus in Kopech’s knee required surgery and sidelined him again on July 1, with another 60-day stint. He returned once rosters expanded in September, and expressed optimism that all this time on the shelf would pay off with the ultimate goal of getting the chance to pitch again in October.
“In these moments, you’re either made or broken as an athlete. So when the pressure builds, if we can maintain ourselves under that pressure and perform to our capabilities, I think that’s what makes us great,” Kopech said on August 31. “Obviously, my hope, my desire, my wish is to be able to perform the best when we have the most on the line.”
Two extended stays on the injured list meant several rehab games for Kopech, who had the unfortunate distinction of pitching more games for Triple-A Oklahoma City (16) than he did with the Dodgers (14). Those rehab games did not go well, including walking all five batters he faced on May 8, his first professional outing of the season. Kopech on rehab was focusing solely on getting ready for the majors, so it led to other problems aside from not finding the strike zone. He allowed 11 steals in 11 attempts in his 11 2/3 innings in Triple-A, and threw four wild pitches. After that initial five-walk game, Kopech had as many walks (15) as strikeouts (15) and a 10.03 ERA in his remaining 15 games with the Comets.
Once Kopech returned to the Dodgers in September, the wildness continued, including eight walks in 20 batters faced over his final four appearances before getting placed on the injured list again on September 19, with right knee inflammation.
The optimism was gone.
“It’s a special group, I care for these guys. I want to win games with them,” Kopech said. “When I realize I’m making it harder on us to win games, it’s not a fun thing to accept. It’s very frustrating.”
Kopech did continue to give it a go, pitching during scrimmages for the postseason, trying to make a last-ditch effort to pitch again in 2025. But it never worked out.
If there was any silver lining to Kopech’ season effectively ending with 10 days left in the regular season, it allowed for Will Klein to get called back up from Triple-A, making an impression that eventually led to his inclusion on the World Series roster.
2025 particulars
Age: 29
Stats: 14 games, 2.45 ERA, 4.58 xERA, 11 IP, 13 walks, 12 strikeouts
Salary: $5.2 million
Game of the year
Three of Kopech’s 14 outings in the majors this year were clean innings. We’ll go with June 14 against the Giants, when the right-hander struck out two of his three batters faced in a perfect eighth inning of a Dodgers win.
Roster status
Kopech is a free agent.
