Dodgers render verdict on highest-paid reliever with 2025 World Series roster reveal

The Dodgers are gearing up for their World Series showdown against the Blue Jays starting on Friday evening in Toronto. It's Blake Snell vs. Trey Yesavage and Shohei Ohtani vs. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and big payroll vs. even bigger payroll. A clash of titans, by all accounts.

LA's 26-man roster doesn't present any surprises on the position player front; in fact, no new changes at all. The pitching staff, however, contains a few eyebrow-raisers for fans.

The Dodgers announced on Thursday night that Alex Vesia would be away from the team attending to a "deeply personal family matter," but in the immediate aftermath, the Dodgers were undecided as to who would take his spot on the roster.

Ben Casparius, who was on the NLCS roster but wasn't used at all, will also be sitting on the sidelines for the Fall Classic. Edgardo Henriquez and Will Klein replace them.

It puts a decisive end to any speculation that Tanner Scott would be healthy enough to pitch in the World Series (or perhaps trusted enough to pitch in the World Series). He underwent a "lower body procedure" during the NLDS and was replaced by Justin Wrobleski. Although he said he was ready to pitch in the World Series, the Dodgers clearly had a different perspective.

Dodgers add Edgardo Henriquez, Will Klein and leave Tanner Scott off of World Series roster ahead of Game 1 vs. Blue Jays

Klein, who was part of the Dodgers' bullpen carousel after they obtained him from the Mariners, had a sneakily good 15 1/3 innings in the regular season, posting a 2.35 ERA. He didn't allow a run over four games in his last stint with the big league club back in September.

Losing Vesia is a massive blow to the Dodgers, who only used four relievers throughout the entire NLCS — Vesia, Anthony Banda, Blake Trienen and Roki Sasaki — thanks to long starts from every member of the rotation. Emmet Sheehan could get some more play in seventh innings if the starters keep doing what they've done, but it wouldn't be surprising if we don't see Klein, Henriquez, Jack Dreyer, or Justin Wrobleski at all throughout the series.

The Dodgers are counting on Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani to give them at least six innings per start. More would be nice, in fact, which would allow the Dodgers to continue avoiding the bullpen for as long as possible. After all, the bullpen is mostly full of guys who have spent the entire season in Dave Roberts' doghouse. The starters continuing to perform is still a very good bet, but it's even more of a necessity now.