At long last, after an arbitration battle that never should have happened in the first place, relief pitcher Alex Vesia has agreed to a $2.25 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers for 2025.
According to a report from Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, Vesia's deal includes a $3.55 million club option for 2026 with a $50,000 buyout, making it a $2.3 million guarantee. The option can rise to $3.725 million based on appearances. The 2026 campaign marks Vesia's final arbitration-eligible season before he can become a free agent.
The Dodgers tendered Vesia a contract at the deadline last November to keep him under team control for 2025, but the 28-year-old southpaw was the Dodgers' lone arbitration-eligible player this offseason who did not reach an agreement with the club prior to the salary exchange deadline.
What was the gap in value that set up a potential arbitration hearing for Vesia and the Dodgers, you ask? Vesia filed at $2.35 million, while the club filed at $2.05 million. That's right; the Dodgers were willing to go to the mat with one of their best relievers from last season over a mere $300,000.
Dodgers end petty arbitration battle with fan favorite reliever Alex Vesia
The Dodgers haven't been shy about spending money this offseason, handing out more than $450 million in guaranteed money to push their luxury tax payroll to approximately $390 million for 2025. Putting a foot down and pinching their pennies with Vesia was... a choice, to say the least.
As puzzling and as unnecessarily long as the arbitration battle was between Vesia and the Dodgers, all's well that ends well. Vesia will return to what is arguably one of the best bullpens in the league after appearing in a career-high 67 games and recording a 1.76 ERA while striking out 33.1% of hitters and walking 12.5% in 2024.
Vesia established himself as one of the Dodgers’ most reliable relievers after a down 2023 season, becoming a go-to option for Los Angeles in high-leverage situations. Over his career, Vesia owns a 2.89 ERA in 214.2 innings while striking out 32.3% of hitters and walking 11.5%.
The Dodgers have now avoided arbitration with all eligible players for 2025. Earlier in the offseason, the club reached agreements with Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May, and to the deadline, they also agreed to deals with Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips, Anthony Banda and Brusdar Graterol.
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