TORONTO -- Lefty reliever Alex Vesia was not on the Dodgers World Series roster released on Friday morning, a day after the club announced he was dealing with a personal family matter.
“It’s with a heavy heart that we share that Alex Vesia is away from the team as he and his wife Kayla navigate a deeply personal family matter. The entire Dodger organization is sending our thoughts to the Vesia family, and we will provide an update at a later date,” the complete statement read.
Ahead of Game 1 on Friday, manager Dave Roberts said Vesia would "most likely" be out for the entirety of the World Series. Both he and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman clarified that Vesia was not on the family medical emergency list, where he could remain for three to seven days before potentially being added to the roster.
"We just didn't want to have any potential for any kind of pressure," Friedman said Friday. "This is so much bigger than baseball. For us, it was doing whatever small part we could to just 100 percent be supportive."
While the human side of the situation is more meaningful than the baseball side, the Dodgers have to reckon with how to move forward in the World Series without Vesia, who has arguably been the steadiest reliever in a volatile bullpen.
Vesia recorded a 3.02 ERA across 68 outings in the regular season and had appeared in seven of Los Angeles' 10 games this postseason. He has typically served as the team's fireman, tasked with shutting down opposing rallies in the late innings.
"We have a lot of viable options," Roberts said. "I don't know what situation will present itself. But I trust all the guys, I really do, and guys are going to have to step up. But Alex is certainly going to be missed."
To complete their bullpen for the Fall Classic, the Dodgers activated righties Edgardo Henriquez and Will Klein. Southpaw Tanner Scott, who's been recovering from getting an abscess removed from his lower body, was not included on the roster for medical reasons, per Roberts.