3 pitchers that can instantly fix the Dodgers' Alex Vesia problem

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been great at finding quality relievers in unexpected places over the last decade. One recent example of a hidden gem uncovered by Andrew Friedman's front office is Alex Vesia, who became a marquee member of the bullpen as a left-handed pitcher.

Vesia posted a 2.19 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and struck out 133 batters in 94.1 combined innings in the 2021 and 2022 seasons while being great in the postseason as well. That success has not yet translated to the 2023 season, where Vesia has a 12.60 ERA.

The southpaw has allowed a run in four of his seven appearances and is solely responsible for two of the team's losses. It's clear that Vesia might need some time down in AAA to figure it out and the team has options to replace him for the time being.

3 pitchers that can instantly fix the Dodgers' Alex Vesia problem

3. Justin Bruihl

Justin Bruihl is already on the big-league club as he was promoted ahead of Monday's game against the New York Mets. That game, in which Bruihl spun a scoreless frame and Vesia allowed three earned runs, might serve as a turning point for the team to rely on Bruihl in Vesia's typical spots.

Bruihl's one inning of work did produced a hard-hit double for Brandon Nimmo, but the southpaw was able to work around that without much else hard contact. With his strong start of the season in AAA also factored in, it's clear that Bruihl is pitching better right now than Vesia.

Bruihl's overall career numbers are not as impressive as Vesia's (3.32 ERA in 43.1 innings pitched) but one of the keys in bullpen management is riding the hot hand. Right now, Bruihl is probably more of a "hot hand" than Vesia.

2. Adam Kolarek

The Dodgers traded for Adam Kolarek during the 2019 season to be a southpaw specialist out of the bullpen. Kolarek was elite against left-handed hitters and posted one of the best groundball rates in the entire sport.

Then the three-batter minimum came into effect for the 2020 season and Kolarek's value went down. No longer could the Dodgers bring him in to face one or two left-handed hitters in the order. That did not seem to impact the left-handed specialist much, though.

Kolarek's funky delivery played very well for the Dodgers across his season and a half (one of which being a 60-game campaign). In 30.2 innings for the Dodgers, Kolarek sported a 0.88 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP. He did not strike out a lot of batters, but he did not allow runs.

All that being said, Kolarek struggled immensely in the 2020 playoffs, allowing five runs in 2.2 innings of work in the NLDS and NLCS. He had just one appearance in the 2020 World Series, throwing 0.2 scoreless innings.

The Dodgers then traded Kolarek to the Oakland Athletics before the 2021 season and he struggled. He posted an 8.00 ERA in nine innings in 2021 and a 4.58 ERA in 17.2 innings in 2022. He has not pitched in the majors since May of last year.

However, Kolarek is enjoying a solid start to the 2023 season for the OKC Dodgers. It.s the best he has pitched at any level since leaving the Dodgers as he is sporting a 1.35 ERA in 6.2 innings of work this season.

Los Angeles re-signed Kolarek for a reason as the team obviously still saw something in him. Perhaps it's time to test that theory at the big-league level.