Originally appeared on E! Online
The Los Angeles Dodgers continue to rally behind Alex Vesia amid his absence from the 2025 World Series.
After the relief pitcher—whose wife Kayla Vesia announced in April they are expecting their first baby—stepped away just before the MLB championship to navigate what the team called a “deeply personal family matter,” his teammates expressed support for him and Kayla, detailing the impact of his absence as they faced off against the Toronto Blue Jays.
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“It’s been pretty emotional down there recently, with everything that’s going on with Ves,” Dodgers pitcher Emmet Sheehan told The New York Times‘ The Athletic after winning game three—which lasted a record 18 innings—on Oct. 27. “We were thinking of him all night.”
The team also expressed support for Alex without words, wearing Dodgers caps with his jersey number 51 embroidered on the side.
“I’m new to the bullpen, but Ves, he means a lot to all of us,” Clayton Kershaw told reporters in a post-game interview. “And he was a huge part of this team, huge part of that bullpen. So, we just wanted to do something to honor him.”
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Justin Wrobleski noted that “Ves is such a big part of our squad and everything that we do, everything we’ve done,” per The Athletic, while Jack Dreyer expressed similar sentiment.
“With him not being here, I think it was just a matter of showing that we’re united with him and Kayla at this time,” the rookie relief pitcher, who is also Alex’s daily catch partner, told The Athletic. “It’s just the little thing that we could do to show him that we care and we’re thinking about him.”
He continued, “We could really use him here, but at the end of the day, we’re a family. So we’re going to help support him however we can.”
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While Alex has not spoken out since the organization confirmed his extended absence on Oct. 23, and the 29-year-old has been left off the team’s roster for the World Series, which is set to resume Oct. 29 with game five.
“We just didn’t want to have any potential for any kind of pressure,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told reporters Oct. 24 of the decision to leave him off the roster. “This is so much bigger than baseball. For us, it was doing whatever small part we could to just 100 percent be supportive.”
As the Dodgers have taken the field amid with their absent teammate in their thoughts, they’ve had fans cheering them on. Keep reading to see the stars who have stepped out for the 2025 World Series…
Leslie Mann & Maude Apatow
Magic Johnson
Anthony Anderson
Alex Cooper
Sean Evans
Brad Paisley, Jason Bateman & Sean Hayes
Meghan Markle & Prince Harry
Justin Bieber & Hailey Bieber
Madison Beer & Justin Herbert
Sydney Sweeney & Christy Martin
Kevin Jonas, Nick Jonas & Joe Jonas
Donald Glover
Chace Crawford
Brad Pitt & Flea
Tinashe
Chris Pine & Dax Shepard
Jacob Elordi
Drake
Rob Lowe
Jeff Goldblum
Cooper Koch
Ariana Madix & Daniel Wai
Nelly Furtado
Edward Norton & Connie Britton
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