{"id":90724,"date":"2025-09-10T08:22:23","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T08:22:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=90724"},"modified":"2025-09-10T08:22:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T08:22:23","slug":"dodgers-bullpen-gets-a-boost-with-alex-vesias-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=90724","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers\u2019 bullpen gets a boost with Alex Vesia\u2019s return"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"Dodgers<\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES \u2014 Reunion week continued at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday when left-hander Alex Vesia rejoined the back end of the bullpen following his recovery from an oblique injury.<\/p>\n

Vesia\u2019s activation from the injured list came on the same day that catcher Will Smith was back in the starting lineup for the first time since last Wednesday in Pittsburgh, where he took a foul ball off the back of his right hand.<\/p>\n

On Monday, third baseman Max Muncy was activated following his own oblique strain and on Wednesday, utility man Tommy Edman is set to return from a sprained right ankle.<\/p>\n

Vesia gives the Dodgers five left-handers in the bullpen, along with Tanner Scott, Jack Dreyer, Anthony Banda and Justin Wrobleski.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a little redundant but I still like the quality of arms we got in the \u2019pen, one through \u2013 what is it \u2013 13 and a half pitchers that we have?\u201d Manager Dave Roberts said. \u201cI love that. So just to have Alex\u2019s experience, he\u2019s healthy, he feels good to be back active. So yeah, just to have a high-leverage guy, someone you trust, it\u2019s good to have him back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Relief help is always welcome with the Dodgers leading baseball with 583\u2154 innings from their bullpen through Monday. Their 4.19 ERA from the relievers is just 19th in the major leagues, though, and ninth in the National League.<\/p>\n

Scott\u2019s issues have been magnified of late after he gave up a walk-off hit in the first two games of last weekend\u2019s series in Baltimore and then the lone hit in the ninth inning of Monday\u2019s near no-hitter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve faced adversity before, and it seems we come out on the other side, and we\u2019re better from it,\u201d Vesia said. \u201cI believe in every single one of us. And yeah, it\u2019s gonna be a great couple weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those couple of weeks will lead to another trip to the postseason after the bullpen was one of the stars during last season\u2019s run to a title. Short on starting pitching, the Dodgers got the job done with four bullpen games in the postseason on the way to the title, including a shutout in a win-or-go-home Game 4 against the San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have every opportunity to go out there and put up zeros,\u201d Vesia said. \u201cWe got to start believing in ourselves and go out there and getting outs. So I think we will.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he went on the injured list retroactive to Aug. 23, Vesia said the downtown was more precautionary than anything else and his recovery went off without a hitch. He brings back a 3-2 record with a 2.75 ERA in 59 relief appearances (52\u2153 innings).<\/p>\n

\u201c(Time off) was good, but I like to pitch, staying in the groove and whatnot,\u201d Vesia said. \u201cIt always sucks to be sidelined, but at the same time, I do understand that the bigger picture is the next three weeks plus the playoffs. So I think it worked out great.\u201d<\/p>\n

NOT OUT OF MIND<\/h4>\n

In order to get Vesia on the roster, right-hander Ben Casparius was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n

Casparius, who made his major league debut just over a year ago, was a key member of the bullpen in the playoffs and fell just short of staying on the roster every day of his first full season. He has gone 7-5 with a 4.64 ERA in 46 appearances (three starts).<\/p>\n

After operating in multiple bullpen roles this season, Casparius essentially had been pitching one inning at a time since the middle of July but had a 5.40 ERA over his last 16 appearances (15 innings).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was tough,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cBen has done a lot of nice things for us, he really has. And he\u2019s still a big part of what we\u2019re doing this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roberts likened the option to more of a reset than a demotion.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting Ben back to dominating right-hand hitters is something that we felt, if we can kind of give a chance to catch his breath, get to OKC and get back to that, it\u2019ll be more helpful for us the rest of the year, and potentially throughout the postseason,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n

ROCKET ROKI<\/h4>\n

Right-hander Roki Sasaki unleashed an elite fastball during his rehab outing with Oklahoma City on Tuesday, reaching as high as 100 mph on the radar gun and consistently sitting above 98 mph.<\/p>\n

Sasaki gave up three runs and three hits over 4\u2154 innings (90 pitches) with eight strikeouts. But his command remains a work in progress with four walks as he ran out of gas late in the outing.<\/p>\n

With a crowded Dodgers rotation, the outing once again raised questions about Sasaki possibly returning to the roster as a reliever.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything\u2019s possible,\u201d Roberts said about a temporary relief role. \u201cAgain, once he gets out of this one, I think we\u2019ll have more clarity. \u2026 I know Roki is anxious to get back here. I know he wants to contribute.\u201d<\/p>\n

UP NEXT<\/h4>\n

Rockies (LHP Kyle Freeland 4-12, 5.10 ERA) at Dodgers (LHP Blake Snell, 3-4, 3.19 ERA), Wednesday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM<\/p>\n

Originally Published:

The left-hander, who missed the past few weeks with an oblique injury, has been among their most reliable relievers this season with a 2.75 ERA in 59 appearances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":90725,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nDodgers\u2019 bullpen gets a boost with Alex Vesia\u2019s return - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=90724\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dodgers\u2019 bullpen gets a boost with Alex Vesia\u2019s return - 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