Dodgers Interview: Vesia grateful for the support of his “brothers”
CAMELBACK RANCH, AZ– Alex Vesia’s spring outing on Monday was one inning on the scorebook, but it carried a lot more weight than that. In the Dodgers’ 3-0 win over the Mariners at Camelback Ranch, Vesia came on in relief and worked a scoreless fifth in his first spring appearance. It came a little more than three months after he and his wife, Kayla, lost their newborn daughter, Sterling Sol, during the World Series. Vesia had already spoken publicly this month about that loss and the support the family has received, and Monday gave fans a chance to welcome him back in person.
Afterward, Vesia admitted the moment came with some emotion, and he let that come through in a way Dodgers fans will recognize right away. “A little bit. Yeah, a little bit. Honestly, I was more nervous in my first live ABs because Shohei was like, ‘Hey, I want a little piece of that.’ I was like, ‘Okay, let’s go. Come on.’ And you brought it. That was fun. Yeah, it was good. That was a good first time, man. Yeah, we’ve been waiting for that one.”
The ovation at Camelback Ranch hit him too, and he talked about that support with the same mix of gratitude and emotion he has carried all spring. “Yeah, I mean, it’s been hard, actually. I guess it’s hard in a good way because I want to interact with all the fans and stuff like that, but I know that I have a job to do. So even on the backfield, it’s the first day. We walk out the doors and cheers and lots of love. Yeah, it means a lot to not only myself, but for Kay too.”
When he got into what he worked on this winter, Vesia kept it simple. He said he got back to throwing in November, focused on his body, and tried to build toward feeling like himself again on the mound. “Honestly, in November I got back to work just throwing, getting the body just right. I just want to have fun on the mound, honestly. I just want to be able to spaz out and kind of just be myself out there. Because right now, I feel really good out there, and it’s just me and myself and baseball.”
That came through in the way he described his fastball and slider too. He was talking process, feel, and execution, the kind of spring checklist every reliever goes through, but there was a little extra life in it because he was finally back in a game. “I think so. I haven’t looked at anything today, but keeping hitters off balance and throwing my slider first right on the zone, that’s all I really want to work on right now. When the game has me adjust, we’ll be there for that.”
He also got a laugh talking about those recent live at-bats against Shohei Ohtani, which sounded like a perfect Vesia detail in the middle of such an emotional week. “Honestly, that was cool. That was cool. I haven’t competed like that in quite some time. Joe’s the most competitive guy that I know. I’m ready for it. And that was fun. That was a good little tune-up. Yeah, it was fun.” Then he added, “Yeah, I asked him a couple times just kind of seeing where the arm slot was, with fastballs and sliders. And then it was actually funny. I saw somebody on Twitter, ‘Now let Vesia get in the box against Shohei.’ And I was like, ‘No thanks, absolutely not.’ So I’ll stick to the pitching side. But yeah, today was great.”
There was even a little in-game challenge moment, and Vesia was already in full reliever mode about it, trusting his catchers and moving on to the next pitch. “Honestly, I didn’t even think about it until Rush did it, and I was like, ‘Oh, okay, yeah, we’re doing that.’ Honestly, I’m going to leave that to Rush [Dalton Rushing] and to Will [Smith]. I think they’ve got a pretty good idea of the zone for myself. I’m just going to try to hit the glove.”
He sounded encouraged by the physical side too. “I’ll be completely honest. I probably spent way too much time in the gym. Probably needed it. But I feel really good. I think that my throw is in a really good spot. At least from all the coaching staff, they’re very encouraged with where I’m at. I think I was 90, 92 today. I’ll take that. I’ve come into camp where I’m like 86, 88. So as long as the fastball has the ride and the efficiency, we’re going to be in a good spot and we’ll keep building from there. But I am actually really happy. That first outing, we’re in a good spot.”
And in the dugout, the support from his teammates landed just as hard as the ovation. Vesia talked about the high-fives, the conversations, and how much the clubhouse has meant to him and Kayla. “Being around the guys, it’s really been comforting. We’ve had multiple conversations and guys are asking me questions and just trying to feel for me, and that’s honestly been a blessing. I do like talking about it with the guys, and I don’t want them to feel like they can’t because to share those important moments, these guys are my brothers, man. I truly do love all of them. Yeah, it’s meant a lot.”
Then he smiled at how the inning itself almost got lost in everything else. “Honestly, I came into the dugout and I was just hyped I got three outs. And then everybody was just telling me good job and whatnot. Yeah, it was a little overwhelming. Then talking with Mark [Prior] and Connor [McGuiness] and just trying to take it all in, definitely was nice.”
That was the scene Monday in Glendale. Three outs, a scoreless inning, a standing ovation, and a clubhouse that met Vesia right where he was.
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