Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia returns from short stay in Triple-A

LOS ANGELES ― Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia ended the 2022 regular season without allowing a run in 26 of his final 27 appearances. During that head-turning stretch of games, he struck out 40 batters across 25 innings while posting a 0.36 ERA, becoming Dave Roberts’ top left-handed set-up man in the process.

Five weeks into the 2023 season, Vesia was optioned to Triple-A with a 7.84 ERA. His road back to the majors ended on Tuesday, when the Dodgers recalled Vesia and optioned pitcher Gavin Stone to Oklahoma City.

“The first couple weeks didn’t go the way I really wanted them to,” Vesia said. “Obviously I was working through some mechanical stuff, leaving the ball a little more in the zone. I was getting hit around a lot. I went down, carried out what I needed to work on. It clicked relatively quick.”

Vesia was torched for five runs while recording only one out in his first minor league game since the 2021 season. After that forgettable outing on May 4 in El Paso, Texas, Vesia appeared in nine more Triple-A games without allowing a run.

The mechanical issue was one Vesia had identified even before he returned to the minors. He described it as a change to the position of his front (right) leg, which in turn hurried his delivery to the plate. Incorporating that little change into his delivery took time.

“On video, you could watch it and see it, but the way your body moves during catch play and the way your body moves with a lot of fans in the stands, there’s a difference,” Vesia said. “There’s adrenaline. There’s everything.”

Part of that “everything” includes the pitch timer. Prior to this season, MLB mandated that pitchers deliver the ball within 15 seconds (with the bases empty) or 20 seconds (with runners on base) after receiving the ball from the catcher.

Last season, Vesia was the slowest-paced pitcher on the Dodgers’ staff. According to Statcast, he needed an average of 24.5 seconds between deliveries with the bases empty and 27.5 seconds with runners on.

This season, Vesia had managed to pick up his tempo (18.5 seconds between pitches with the bases empty; 20.9 seconds with runners on) without incurring a pitch-timer violation. But it might have caused him to lose track of the mechanics that previously made him elite.

“I do think the pitch clock got to him a little bit,” Roberts said. “He’s very methodical. Takes his time between pitches. I do feel that he felt a little sped up, which played into his rhythm in between pitches. Getting back away from this, being able to get used to it, I think he’s in a much better spot right now.”

WEEKEND ROTATION

Michael Grove is likely to be activated on Saturday and start the middle game of a three-game series against the New York Yankees. Grove, who’s on the injured list with a right groin strain, has an 0-1 record and an 8.44 ERA in four starts this season.

The Dodgers’ 26-man roster is full, so they will need to make a corresponding move before Saturday.

Clayton Kershaw is in line to pitch Friday’s series opener. Roberts said rookie right-hander Bobby Miller, who has won each of his first two major league starts, will pitch Sunday’s finale. Miller’s third major league start will be a nationally televised “Sunday Night Baseball” game on ESPN.

“I think there’s certain ideal spots for guys,” Roberts said. “Maybe (Sunday is) not as ideal for a guy who’s making his third start, but it’s where we’re at and we feel confident that (Miller) can handle it. I just look at it as an opportunity to pitch against a great ball club, a great franchise, here at home.”

ALSO

Pitcher Daniel Hudson threw a 30-pitch bullpen session at Dodger Stadium, but there is still no timetable for him to return. Hudson, 36, is still feeling residual pain in his surgically repaired left knee, but there is some hope he can pitch through it. The veteran right-hander will continue his rehabilitation in Arizona on Thursday. Hudson had a 2.22 ERA in 25 appearances before tearing the ACL in his knee last year. … Julio Urías is scheduled to throw off a mound Saturday, Roberts said. If that goes well, Urías will face live hitters “two to three days later” for the first time since he was placed on the 10-day IL with a hamstring strain. … He is not expected to need a minor league rehabilitation start.

UP NEXT

Dodgers (RHP Noah Syndergaard, 1-4, 6.27 ERA) vs. Washington Nationals (LHP Patrick Corbin, 4-5, 4.88 ERA), Wednesday, 1:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM

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