Alex Vesia

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Alexander Victor Vesia

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Biographical Information[edit]

Pitcher Alex Vesia was drafted in the 17th round of the 2018 amateur draft by the Miami Marlins out of California State University, East Bay, a Division-II school that is not a traditional baseball power. However, he had been very good there, including going 8-2, 1,94 his senior season, and he followed that by putting up some good numbers in his first pro season. He went 4-0, 1.35 in 14 relief appearances between the GCL Marlins and Batavia Muckdogs of the New York-Penn League.

He continued his quick rise through the minor league ranks in 2019, seeing action at the Class A, Advanced Class A and AA levels, with a combined 7-2, 1.76 mark in 38 games with the Clinton LumberKings, Jupiter Hammerheads and Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. Interestingly, his ERA went down at each of his stop, ending up with not giving up a single run in 16 1/3 at Jacksonville. He was now a genuine prospect, and in 2020 he made the Marlins' roster at the start of the season, following the three-month break forced upon baseball by the COVID-19 pandemic. He made his debut on July 25th but gave up a two-run homer to Phil Gosselin of the Philadelphia Phillies to be charged with a 7-1 loss. The Marlins were hit with an epidemic of positive cases of the disease two days later, and he was one of the players affected, not making his next appearance until August 29th. Overall, he gave up at least one run in four of his five appearances that year, ending up with an ERA of 18.69 in 4 1/3 innings. Not surprisingly, he was left off the Marlins' postseason roster.

On February 12, 2021, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers along with P Kyle Hurt in return for veteran reliever Dylan Floro. He had a very good first season for the Dodgers, pitching 41 times in relief and going 3-1, 2.25 with 1 save and 54 strikeouts in 40 innings. He then pitched 7 times in the postseason, giving up just 1 run on a solo homer by Brandon Crawford of the San Francisco Giants in Game 1 of the Division Series. His next six appearances were scoreless, including five in the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves, although in game 6 of that series, he did load the bases on three walks without retiring anyone before Blake Treinen bailed him out by striking out Austin Riley to end the inning.

On April 13, 2022, he was thrust into a situation very few pitchers have ever experienced as he replaced Clayton Kershaw in a game against the Minnesota Twins with a perfect game on the line. Kershaw had retired all 21 batters he had faced through seven innings, but was removed by manager Dave Roberts after reaching his pitch count limit in what was his first start of the season. Vesia took over and retired the first batter he faced, Jorge Polanco, on a ground ball, but then allowed a single to Gary Sanchez to end the historic bid. He then walked Max Kepler before getting the final two outs of the inning, and then turning the ball over to Justin Bruihl in the 9th. The Dodgers won the game handily, 7-0. He went 5-0, 2.15 in 63 games and 54 1/3 innings that season. He continued in a similar role the following season, mainly coming in to face tough lefthanded batters, although with the adoption of the three-batter rule the season in which he made his debut, he could not be used as an extreme LOOGY as he had to face righthanders as well in most situations. His ability to also do that made him a valuable member of the Dodgers' bullpen in spite of his limited usage. In 2023, he went 2-5, 4.35 in 56 games, but with an excellent K/9 ratio of 64 in 49 2/3 innings.

He was a member of the Dodgers' World Series winning team in 2024. He har arguably his best year during the regular season, going 5-4 with an excellent 1.76 ERA in 67 outings, and also picked up 5 saves (he had had only one in each of his previous three seasons in L.A.) He struck out 87 batters in 66 1/3 innings, both numbers being career highs and pointing to the fact he was no longer used strictly as a specialist. He pitched seven times in the postseason that year, including being used in four of the five games of the World Series against the New York Yankees when he picked up a save and did not give up a run in 2 2/3 innings. He followed that with another very good season in 2025, going 4-2 with a 3.02 ERA and another 5 saves in a career-high 68 games pitched. He again continued to have an excellent strikeout rate, with 80 in 59 2/3 innings. During the postseason, he was one of the few reliable relievers for manager Dave Roberts alongside newly-minted closer Roki Sasaki, as he made seven outings in the first three rounds, and the only runs he allowed came when the Dodgers had a big lead late in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the Cincinnati Reds. However, he had to miss the World Series due to what was described as a "deeply personal family matter"; it was known that his wife was pregnant at the time and speculation was that she had run into serious complications. His absence proved to be costly for the Dodgers, who had to scramble to replace him. His teammates, and even some members of the rival Totonto Blue Jays wore an embroidering of his uniform number, 51, on their caps during the Series, to show support knowing that he was going through a very difficult period. Following the World Series, it was announced that Vesia and his wife Kayla had lost their new-born daughter, Sterling, who had died shortly after her birth while the Fall Classic was ongoing.

Notable Achievements[edit]

Further Reading[edit]

  • Sonja Chen: "Vesia's status for World Series uncertain amid 'deeply personal family matter'", mlb.com, October 23, 2025. [1]
  • Sonja Chen: "Why Dodgers relievers have '51' written on their caps", 'mlb.com, October 30, 2025. [2]
  • Sonja Chen: "Alex Vesia, wife Kayla mourning loss of their daughter", mlb.com, November 7, 2025. [3]
  • Sonja Chen: "Vesia immensely grateful for widespread support after loss of child", mlb.com, February 13, 2026. [4]

Related Sites[edit]

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