Last week, Alex Vesia made sure to take in the scene.
asserted
Vesia → make → scene
A full month of baseball, he and the Dodgers hope, still lies ahead this October.
asserted
he → hope → baseball
Their game last Thursday was nothing more than a regular-season home finale, with the club set to open its postseason back at Dodger Stadium on Saturday in the National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves.
asserted
club → set → Braves
Still, Vesia couldn’t help but feel sentimental as he traversed the clubhouse that afternoon, and sat out in the bullpen with several longtime teammates that night.
asserted
he → help → teammates
As a pending free agent this offseason, it might not be much longer.
uncertain
it → pende → agent
“I sent a text in our family group chat that was like, ‘I potentially could have played my last home game as a Dodger, in the regular season,’” Vesia recounted to the California Post this week.
uncertain
Vesia → send → Post
Since arriving as a little-known trade acquisition in February 2021 (acquired from the Miami Marlins, along with Kyle Hurt, in exchange for Dylan Floro), Vesia has been a stalwart in the Dodgers’ bullpen.
asserted
Vesia → arrive → bullpen
He has made 367 appearances for the club, a whopping 150 more than any other Dodgers pitcher in that span (Evan Phillips is next closest at 232).
asserted
Phillips → make → 232
He has posted a 2.66 ERA and 5.7 wins above replacement, according to Fangraphs (ranking fifth among all left-handed relievers in the majors in that latter category during that period).
uncertain
He → post → period
It was a rise that required personal reinvention, with the former 17th-round draft pick raising his arm slot and cultivating one of baseball’s most deceptive fastballs with the help of the organization’s highly-touted pitching department.
asserted
pick → require → department
It was a road full of glorious highs, including two World Series championships, and gut-wrenching lows –– both on the field, like when he was optioned to the minor leagues for part of 2023, but especially off of it, after the unimaginable loss he and his wife experienced last October when their newborn daughter passed away during the Fall Classic.
asserted
daughter → include → Classic
That ordeal has changed the 30-year-old, in ways he still can’t fully verbalize yet.
asserted
he → change → ways
“It’s been an extremely hard year,” Vesia said, with a set of pink-accented gloves honoring his late daughter resting in his locker behind him.
asserted
set → say → him
It has also altered his perspective during what might be his final ride in Los Angeles, making every little moment something to cherish ahead of an uncertain future.
“I’ve learned, especially over the last year, there’s certain moments in life that you need to stop and take it in,” he explained.
uncertain
he → alter → it
Vesia, of course, would love to be back with the Dodgers next year, and beyond.
asserted
Vesia → love → Dodgers
His consistent production and energetic mound presence have made him something of a fan favorite at this point; so much so, a local artist recently unveiled a mural of him in Burbank.
asserted
artist → make → Burbank
“I’m very thankful to have spent the last six years here,” he said.
asserted
he → ’m → years
“I’ve learned so much about myself and the game, just what it takes to be a champion.
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it → learn → what
That’s really, really, really special.
asserted
That → ’ → ?
Still, this lockout-threatened winter raises even more unknowns than usual.
asserted
winter → threaten → unknowns
Thus, even though he noted that “there’s still so much in front of us” this postseason, Vesia has allowed some nostalgia to creep in too.
asserted
nostalgia → note → us
“Even with Miggy and his sort of goodbye to baseball,” Vesia said, referencing likely-to-retire teammate Miguel Rojas, “some of the stuff that he has said about this team, I also resonate with.
asserted
I → say → team
Like, it hits me too.”
asserted
it → hit → me
Entering this October, Vesia’s bonds in the clubhouse and, especially, the bullpen –– a group he was first to nickname “The Dawgs” during their heroic contributions to the team’s 2024 title –– have never felt stronger.
asserted
he → enter → title
Since the beginning of the season, he has been effusive in describing the ways they have supported him in the wake of last year’s tragedy.
asserted
they → describe → tragedy
In recent weeks, he has felt the unit’s performance collectively click into place, too, with the Dodgers’ relief corps emerging as a potentially underrated strength in their bid for a World Series three-peat.
asserted
corps → feel → peat
“It was just like, guys got out of certain innings where … you could just see them start to trust their stuff,” Vesia said.
uncertain
Vesia → get → stuff
“It’s definitely exciting.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
I think our guys in the bullpen are catching strides at the right time.”
asserted
guys → think → time
He posted a 2.64 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 58 innings on the season.
asserted
He → post → season
More importantly, he improved his previously faulty command down the stretch, walking just one batter in 11 appearances during September.
asserted
he → improve → September
Now, he’s hoping it sets up a storybook ending to what has been an emotional campaign –– and potentially his impactful Dodgers career.
asserted
what → hop → ending
“The way I view things are a little bit different.
asserted
I → view → things
The way I go about my business is a little bit different.
asserted
I → go → business
The way I’m motivated is a little bit different,” he said, while reflecting back on a traumatic 12 months that have made his connections in the organization all the more meaningful.
asserted
connections → motivate → organization
“Ultimately, I know the job that I have to do,” he added.
asserted
he → know → that
The Aporia
