The Los Angeles Dodgers announced their official World Series roster Friday morning, with Alex Vesia notably absent due to a “deeply personal family matter,” per the team. Manager Dave Roberts confirmed that Vesia would “most likely” not pitch in the Fall Classic against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Vesia, one of L.A.’s most trusted bullpen arms over the past five seasons, has posted a 2.68 ERA and 3.16 SIERA in 270 relief innings since 2021. Only Emmanuel Clase and Raisel Iglesias have logged more innings with a lower ERA in that span. Despite a brief oblique injury earlier this season—the first of his Dodgers tenure—Vesia returned to dominate, delivering 4 1/3 scoreless innings in six straight playoff appearances following an early postseason outing in which he allowed two earned runs.
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President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman explained the team intentionally avoided placing Vesia on MLB’s family medical emergency list, which would have required him to miss three to seven days. “This is so much bigger than baseball. For us, it was doing whatever small part we could to just a hundred percent be supportive,” Friedman said. Roberts added that the Dodgers have “even more motivation” against Toronto but deemed it “most likely” that Vesia misses the entire series.
Vesia’s absence leaves the Dodgers without one of their top left-handed relievers in high-leverage situations. To fill roster spots, Edgardo Henriquez and Will Klein replaced Vesia and Ben Casparius. “I think we exhausted a couple different options, but just considering, obviously, what he’s going through, baseball’s certainly on the back burner,” Roberts said.
Tanner Scott Also Left Off Roster
Tanner Scott, another left-hander, was also left off the roster due to medical reasons. He had been removed from the NLDS roster to address a lower-body abscess, which prevented him from pitching in the NLCS. Roberts described Scott’s omission as a “medical” decision, separate from his performance, though the southpaw struggled in 2025, posting a 4.74 ERA and blowing 10 saves. Despite this, pitch models indicated his underlying skills remained strong, and the Dodgers continued to trust him in high-leverage moments.
Without Scott and Vesia, Los Angeles enter the World Series missing the two left-handed relievers they relied on most this season. Their absence places added pressure on the remaining bullpen, making games against Toronto’s potent lineup a more daunting challenge for Los Angeles.
