LOS ANGELES — Michael Kopech’s injury-plagued 2025 regular season has concluded, as the Dodgers placed the right-handed reliever on the 15-day injured list on Friday. The official diagnosis announced by the team was right knee inflammation, but Kopech’s maladies have been numerous.
“I’m dealing with a couple of things right now,” Kopech said. “I’ll just leave it at that.”
“With what we’ve seen, it hasn’t been consistent. He’s going through some things physically, and certainly it’s pitchable — those
are his words — but it’s just not up to the Kopech standard that he is as a pitcher,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We’re going to IL him, and I’m not exactly sure what the note is, because there’s actually a few of them.”
Kopech since returning from his second 60-day injured-list stint on September 1 has allowed three runs on three singles in his four innings with four strikeouts. But he’s also walked nine of his 24 batters faced and thrown two wild pitches. On Thursday night he walked two of his three batters faced in the seventh inning, and the Giants’ later that frame scored their only run of the game.
“It’s a special group, I care for these guys. I want to win games with them,” Kopech said Friday. “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.”
This is a stark contrast from the optimism Kopech showed three weeks ago, returning from missing two months after surgery to repair a torn meniscus. He also missed the first 64 games of the season with a right shoulder impingement stemming from a heavy workload during the 2024 postseason.
In all, Kopech pitched more games in Triple-A on minor league rehab assignments (16) than he did for the Dodgers (14) this season, inactive in the majors for 125 of 162 games. With Los Angeles, the pending free agent posted a 2.45 ERA and 4.32 xERA with 13 walks and 12 strikeouts in 11 innings.
“I haven’t really been able to have a consistent workload this year with the IL stints I have had. Getting in a rhythm isn’t the easiest thing to do right now,” Kopech said. “It’s very frustrating. We’re coming down to a division title, and trying to put ourselves in good position for postseason, which is obviously something I want to be a part of.”
Technically, Kopech might still be in the picture. The Dodgers haven’t yet ruled out the right-hander for October, though it seems like a long shot.
“This guy is such a great competitor, so we’ll see. We’ll try to reset him, and keep him alive for the postseason,” Roberts said. “If it’s not one thing, it’s something else. Again, it’s pitchable, but just to the standard we expect from him and he expects from himself, that’s not where he’s at right now.”
If Kopech were to be activated again for the postseason, he wouldn’t be eligible to return until the NL Division Series, after his 15 days on the IL have expired.
Taking Kopech’s spot on the active roster is Will Klein, up for his fourth stint in the majors with the Dodgers this season. The right-hander has a 5.16 ERA and 42.7-percent strikeout rate in 20 games for Oklahoma City, and last pitched on Tuesday, tossing 1 2/3 perfect innings with three strikeouts.
Notably still in Triple-A is Ben Casparius, who was optioned on September 9 and would normally not be eligible to return until next Wednesday, though he could have returned earlier to replace an injured player. Casaprius has allowed a run in 3 2/3 innings with five strikeouts for Oklahoma City, and last pitched last Sunday.
Oklahoma City has only three days remaining in their season. Both Roki Sasaki and Brock Stewart will pitch in relief for the Comets on Sunday, then join the Dodgers on the road trip for further evaluation and possible activation from the injured list.
