His name is no longer just Will Klein. It will now forever be linked with the moniker World Series Hero Will Klein.
In the marathon game that was Game 3 of the 2025 World Series, it was Klein that kept the Dodgers tied with the Toronto Blue Jays. He gave everything he had, going four innings and 72 pitches. It was the longest outing of his professional career, and Freddie Freeman’s walk-off home run in the bottom of the 18th inning garnered Klein the win.
Now, Klein is in a battle to join the Dodgers
bullpen this season. The relief pitcher has been with four organizations in the last two years, and would very much like to continue calling L.A. his home. From Sonja Chen of MLB.com:
“I think the Dodgers just really allow you to be who you are,” Klein said. “A lot of other teams are maybe like cookie-cutter in their programs or know what they want from guys, but here … you see a lot of different kinds of pitchers, and they let you do what you’re exceptional at.”
So far this spring, he has appeared in five games, going 5.0 innings, with seven strikeouts and a 1.80 era. But per usual, the Dodgers bullpen is full of guys who can make the Opening Day roster, and Klein just hopes he is one.
One guy who is new to the team but knows he has a spot is Kyle Tucker. He isn’t just new to the Dodgers, he’s new to parenthood. Kyle and his wife welcomed a baby boy last week.
Now Tucker is back in Dodgers camp and looking to work on his swing to be ready for the start of the season.
Unlike Freddie Freeman, Tucker does not have a set number of at bats he’d like to have to feel comfortable at the plate. Tucker had one hit in Sunday’s game against the Oakland Athletics but was out of the lineup on Monday. He is expected to be back in the lineup in Tuesday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“From what I’ve gathered of talking to him and his coaches before, he doesn’t need a lot to get ready,” Roberts said, per Doug Padilla of the Orange County Register. “It was good to see him get a hit (Sunday). … I still think we have plenty of time to get him ready to go.”
In addition to spring training, the baseball world is enjoying the World Baseball Classic. And while two of his fellow starting pitchers went to play for their country, Glasnow decided early in the offseason that he would stay in Dodgers camp to continue to progress on the strides he made last season, per Jack Harris of The California Post.
Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior remarked that it took the coaching staff a little while to understand all there was to Glasnow’s delivery, and how best to make it work for him. From Harris:
“I think it’s taken us a couple years to kind of understand the nuances of his delivery, and really matching his feel versus the output (of what he’s doing),” Prior said. “With a lot of guys, we’re trying to get things narrowed down to one or two things that we can really hit somebody between the eyes with. But I joke with him, like, ‘Hey man, you got 50.’”
They have homed in on a few specific tweaks, and Glasnow showed out in the playoffs, both starting and coming in in relief, allowing only a 1.69 era through the playoffs. Glasnow is now looking to carry that into the 2026 season. He starts Tuesday against the Diamondbacks at Camelback Ranch.
