Dodgers can breathe a (small) sigh of relief as LA confirms key bullpen arm's return

The bullpen calamity that doomed the Dodgers in a series loss against the Orioles over the weekend was one for the ages and a culmination of almost every flaw fans have been calling them out for since July. In their first two games, the Dodgers offense didn't provide run support and highly paid and/or historically reliable relievers completely crumbled.

Apart from the actual relievers who were responsible for the whole mess, there's been a lot of (deserved) finger pointing at the front office. They were the ones who signed Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates after singular good seasons, and they were the ones who only brought in a single reliever at the trade deadline (Brock Stewart, who has been on the IL since Aug. 12).

And now, the Dodgers have no recourse. They're just going to have to hope that the ones that they have can figure it out.

There's a little help on the way, at least. Alex Vesia, who has been on the IL since Aug. 26 (retroactive to Aug. 23) with an oblique strain is expected to be back on Monday.

Alex Vesia expected to return to Dodgers on Monday after bullpen blowups vs. Orioles

Vesia isn't typically a closer, but it would've been nice to have him as an option instead of either Treinen or Scott as one of the only trustworthy, high-leverage arms in the bullpen. He'd been struggling a little before he went onto the IL, but was just starting to level back out again before the team announced his injury.

Still, it's refreshing that the Dodgers are actually getting a reliever back after an absolute minimum stay on the IL, when they've had plenty of pitchers promise that sort of timeline only to be set back for weeks more.

Treinen, Yates, Kopech, and Scott still have a lot to figure out if the Dodgers are going to have any chance of making a dent in the postseason, and Dave Roberts evidently still doesn't trust the rookies (nor should he, really). It's an unenviable position for the Dodgers to be in: half of their bullpen is young and still climbing up the trust tree, and the other half were supposed to be good but aren't.

But Vesia's return gives the Dodgers more reason to be optimistic than not, and fans should take any excuse to be at least cautiously optimistic right now.