Vesia Projected for Two-Year, $25M Deal

The Dodgers reliever is expected to draw interest in free agency after a strong season in the bullpen.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Baseball

Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia is projected to earn a two-year, $25 million free agent contract after playing the final year of a $3.65 million deal. The Dodgers have nine total free agents this offseason, four of them relief pitchers.

Why it matters

Vesia has been a Dodgers bullpen staple since joining the team in a 2021 trade with the Miami Marlins, and his return would bear on how Los Angeles rebuilds its relief corps after back-to-back World Series titles. The Dodgers are expected to pursue a multi-year deal to keep him.

Vesia posted a 2.64 ERA across 72 appearances this season, with 74 strikeouts, a 1.07 WHIP, and 58 innings, compared with a career 2.87 ERA over 372 major league games. Whether his projected $25 million valuation holds in actual negotiations remains unresolved.

The players

Alex Vesia

A left-handed reliever who has been a staple of the Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen since 2021, and whose free agency is now drawing attention.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Major League Baseball franchise based in Los Angeles that won World Series titles in 2024 and 2025 and is now managing a large group of free agents.

Kiley McDaniel

An ESPN baseball analyst who projected that Vesia could earn a two-year, $25 million free agent contract.

The details

Vesia went 3-1 this past season and has pitched for the Dodgers since 2021, when he joined the club in a trade with the Miami Marlins. The Dodgers exercised his club option last offseason, and his current contract runs through the final year at $3.65 million.

2021: Vesia joins the Dodgers in a trade with the Miami Marlins before the season.
Last offseason: The Dodgers exercise Vesia's club option for his final contract year.
2024 and 2025: The Dodgers win back-to-back World Series titles.
This offseason: The Dodgers have nine free agents, including four relief pitchers.
2027: Whether Vesia returns to the Dodgers is still undetermined.

Season Trajectory

The Dodgers' back-to-back World Series titles in 2024 and 2025 were built on a deep bullpen, and retaining Vesia would extend that formula into the next season. Losing four relief pitchers in free agency would test whether the team can maintain its late-inning depth through a second consecutive championship cycle.

If the Dodgers retain Vesia, the bullpen's late-inning depth stays intact for fantasy managers tracking his strikeout and ERA numbers. A departure would open a role for another reliever and could shift the strikeout projections of Dodgers relievers.

The takeaway

Vesia's projected deal illustrates how quickly a reliable reliever's value rises after a strong season, and how a championship roster's depth is tested each offseason. Fans and fantasy managers should watch how the Dodgers resolve their four relief free agents.