The Dodgers reinstated Blake Snell from the paternity list on Tuesday, but the corresponding move wasn’t a pitcher getting optioned. Instead, Alex Vesia was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right oblique strain.
The IL move was retroactive to Saturday, so Vesia’s earliest possible return date is September 7. But when is the last time someone missed the minimum amount of time with an oblique injury?
Vesia has been arguably the Dodgers’ best reliever this season, with a 2.75 ERA, 3.02 xERA in
59 appearances, the latter second on the team. Vesia has 69 strikeouts (a 33-percent strikeout rate) and 18 walks in his 52 1/3 innings, and four saves. His eight home runs allowed are a career high, but within range of his seven homers allowed in each of the last two seasons.
The left-hander hit a rough patch by allowing runs in four consecutive appearances earlier in August, but has only pitched twice in the last 10 days. He got the final five outs in a win over the Padres at Dodger Stadium on August 17, when pitched a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts to end the series at Coors Field on August 21. Vesia did not pitch over the weekend in San Diego, but then again the Dodgers didn’t have a late lead until Sunday.
This is the first time on the injured list for Vesia since 2020 when he was with the Marlins. Vesia going down leaves only four of 13 pitchers remaining from the Dodgers active roster for domestic opening day who have not been placed on the injured list and are still with the team — Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jack Dreyer, Ben Casparius, and Anthony Banda. Vesia is the 20th different Dodgers pitcher to be placed on the injured list in 2025.
Snell was on the paternity list for the full three days, after the birth of his second child. The left-hander is scheduled to start Friday against the Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium.
