Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia had a prepared message ready when speaking to the media on Friday during the first day of Spring Training.
In his remarks, Vesia acknowledged and thanked the Toronto Blue Jays for their support amid his absence from the World Series due to the tragic death of his baby daughter, Sterling Sole.
During the Fall Classic, Dodgers players wrote the number 51 on the sides of their hats in solidarity with Vesia as he battled through a hard time.
Once the Blue Jays pitchers became aware, members of the bullpen also wrote 51 on the side of their hats, a touching tribute that showed the brotherhood that plays have across the league.
Understandably, Alex and his wife, Kayla, have been privately handling the loss of their daughter, only announcing the news via Instagram following the World Series.
With the season starting, Alex took the microphone at Camelback Ranch and spoke about how much the Blue Jays’ actions meant to him and his family.
“I’d like to take the opportunity to thank the Toronto Blue Jays, their front office coaching staff and their players for showing us the support, they are a first class organization,” Vesia said.
“And I just wanna say thank you to them. When Kay and I were watching the World Series, we noticed that there was 51 on Louis Varland’s hat.
“I immediately texted Gus Varland, his brother, and I asked him if I was seeing that correctly. He texted me back right away, and he said, ‘the Varlands love you, dude. The whole Toronto bullpen has it too, it’s bigger than baseball, we love y’all.’
“And Kay and I, yeah, we were very emotional. We were super overwhelmed with emotion, and the baseball, the community, the relationships that you make along the way, it showed that it’s much bigger than baseball.
“The outpouring of love and support, Kay and I, I’ve had over the past few months has been unmatched.”
What role will Alex Vesia play with the Dodgers?
As a trusted left handed releiver for the Dodgers, Vesia should get plenty of run, especially during the regular season.
The Dodgers have a good balance of right-handed optins and lefties, but they do lean a bit more righty, meaning Dave Roberts will likely deploy pitchers based on form and feeling.
Vesia will be competing with Tanner Scott, Jack Dreyer, and Justin Wrobleski for the ball in left-handed situations, though his track record will give him an edge in high-leverage spots, especially if he can pick up where he left off.
