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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 17: Manager Dave Roberts #30 reacts after Shohei Ohtani #17 was hit by a pitch from Randy Vásquez #98 of the San Diego Padres in the third inning at Dodger Stadium on June 17, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Many talk about all the money the Los Angeles Dodgers have spent over the past few years, and rightfully so. However, Andrew Friedman needs to be applauded for going out and taking risks on players that many other teams didn’t want to touch.

That includes Michael Kopech, who was once viewed as one of the top prospects in Major League Baseball.

Kopech has one of the best fastballs in the league, but for parts of his career, he’s struggled mightily. Prior to joining the Dodgers in a deal with the Chicago White Sox at last year’s deadline, he had a 4.74 ERA in 43 appearances for the worst team in baseball.

He then came to Los Angeles and threw in 24 games, posting a 0.79 WHIP and 1.13 ERA.

Unfortunately, Kopech has been dealing with an injury for much of the year, so there are questions about what his free agency might look like this winter.

He finally pitched again for the Dodgers on Sept. 2, allowing one earned run against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Despite the questions, some believe that he’s put himself in a great position to get paid, including Jeff Passan of ESPN. That’s only, however, if he can throw the baseball at the level he has for the past year and a half in the final two months of the campaign.

“Michael Kopech, Dodgers, right-hander: Kopech could make himself plenty of money with a strong September and October. And considering the state of the Dodgers’ bullpen, there’s ample opportunity for him to capture high-leverage innings,” he noted .

Can Michael Kopech Bounce Back for the Dodgers?

While Kopech didn’t have his best outing when returning to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the important part here is that he feels healthy.

According to Dodger Blue, Kopech said that he feels great, and while he wants to be better, he feels healthy.

That’s the most crucial aspect for anything that the Dodgers deal with right now.

“So I feel pretty good with it all. I feel healthy. And so I think a lot of that will show up as it comes, but kind of getting acclimated here for the next couple days will definitely help with that too,” he said .

Free Agency Will Be an Afterthought for Michael Kopech

Regarding what Kopech and the Los Angeles Dodgers are looking to complete during the postseason, that’s none other than winning another World Series.

He’ll worry about free agency when the time comes, which could even see him come back to the Dodgers, considering they’re willing to spend money, but for now, the goal is to win this year and go from there.

“It feels like it’s been a long season. I’ve had two stints on the 60-day, which you never want to go in on the IL in general, but definitely don’t want to miss this many games,” he said. “I’ve pitched like eight innings this year for a team that I really like being a part of.

“I know we all have the same objective in mind, is to go win another championship, and to not get to be a part of what it’s looked like so far, at least not very much, is disappointing. So I’m definitely eager to get back. It has been a long road, but the end of the story isn’t written yet, so could be very rewarding.”

Jon Conahan covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. Since 2019, his sports coverage has appeared at Sports Illustrated, oddschecker, ClutchPoints and Sportskeeda. More about Jon Conahan

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