Wednesday, January 29, 2025
Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2025
The Los Angeles Dodgers added Kirby Yates to their bullpen. After winning the World Series, the Dodgers have built a super bullpen.
When the 2025 season begins, Yates will be 38. From 2014 when Yates was a Tampa Bay Rays to now, he has been one of the elite relievers in the major leagues. Last year while with the Texas Rangers, he had arguably the best season during his major league career when he appeared in 61 games, had 33 saves, a 1.17 ERA, and 85 strikeouts.
Sources say Yates agreed with the Dodgers on a one-year $13 million contract. Though the Dodgers have an overloaded bullpen, they have question marks.
This offseason, when the Dodgers seem to be making headlines weekly, they extended a World Series hero, Blake Treinen, and signed a super left-handed reliever, Scott Tanner.
While Treinen pitched a lot in the 2024 season plus the postseason coming off two injured-plagued seasons, he may need time on the IL to rest the tired arm.
Brusdar Graterol will miss the first half of the 2025 season after having right shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. He might miss the entire 2025 season.
Evan Phillips couldn’t pitch in the World Series because of a right arm injury. Since the Dodgers haven’t said anything about Phillips’ injury, they don’t know if Phillips can start the 2025 season on March 18th in Japan.
A week ago, there was a report that Michael Kopech will miss the first month of the 2025 season. Though the Dodgers haven’t said anything about Kopech, he didn’t pitch well in the postseason. Kopech might be healthy. He might have an injury.
Alex Vesia might miss time in the 2025 season. He is one of the best left-handed relievers. He couldn’t pitch in the NLCS against the New York Mets because of an oblique injury. Since Vesia has pitched much during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, he might have an injury.
After having a poor major league career, Anthony Banda became a Dodger. The journeyman left-hander performed great when he appeared in 48 games with 2 saves, a 3.08 ERA, and 50 strikeouts. While Banda performed well in the 2024 season, he may struggle in the 2025 season. it’s doubtful that Banda will regress.
Most baseball-knowledgeable people expect the Dodgers will trade Ryan Brasier to open a roster spot for Yates. After having a brilliant 2023 season as a Dodger, Brasier struggled in the 2024 season, including a severe strained calf muscle. The Dodgers have a 40-man roster crunch until they can put players on the 60-day IL.
The Dodgers understand nobody can predict how well a reliever will do. They have tried to assemble a great bullpen after a season where the Dodgers ran out of pitching because of pitchers’ injuries. On paper, the Dodgers should win the 2025 World Series, but baseball hasn’t played on paper.
