After establishing himself as one of the bright spots of an otherwise disappointing regular season bullpen, Alex Vesia had to sit out the Los Angeles Dodgers' World Series run following the death of his infant son, Sterling.

Returning to the organization for spring training, Vesia has thanked his teammates and fans for supporting him during the darkest time of his family's life, before returning to the mound to get his game back on track for the 2026 MLB season.

And in his first appearances of the preseason, Vesia showcased why he is such a crucial part of the Dodgers' formula in 2026, taking down the Seattle Mariners 1-2-3 in their exhibition showdown to keep Los Angeles up 2-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning.

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Initially drafted into professional baseball by the Miami Marlins in the 17th round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of California State University, East Bay in Hayward, Vesia has been a member of the Dodgers since 2021, when he was acquired alongside Kyle Hurt in exchange for Dylan Floro. Vesia has appeared in 321 games for the Blue and White, 295 in the regular season plus 26 more in the playoffs, and has a career ERA of 2.67, including a career-best 1.76 in 2024.

While the Dodgers have unquestionably gotten better in 2026, improving their bullpen with one of the best closers in the game, Edwin Diaz, the team can't live or die based on the ninth inning alone. No, if the Dodgers are going to turn in complete games more often than not instead of sending Kike Hernandez to the mound in blowouts, they'll need players like Vesia to shine in their roles and players like Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Tucker, and Will Smith back to the plate.