Despite the joyous celebrations riding high, Alex Vesia sat out his team’s parade while quietly grappling with a deeply personal family matter
The confetti had hardly settled on another championship for the Los Angeles Dodgers when one familiar face was noticeably missing from the revelry. On Monday, November 3, 2025, as city streets in Los Angeles roared with cheers in honor of the Dodgers’ hard-fought win over the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2025 World Series, left-handed reliever Alex Vesia—wearing No. 51 in his time with the club—opted out of the team’s official parade and celebration. Rather than be in the spotlight, Vesia stepped into the quiet shadows, a decision the organization fully supported.
The Dodgers issued a statement on October 23 noting that Vesia and his wife, Kayla Vesia, were navigating a “deeply personal family matter.” The team added they would “provide an update at a later date.” The matter had emerged as postseason rosters formed, and by the time the Fall Classic opened in late October Vesia had already stepped away from the team.
Few specifics have been shared publicly, and out of respect for privacy, the details remain undisclosed. But what is clear is that Vesia had been a key part of the Dodgers’ bullpen during the 2025 regular season—recording a strong 3.02 ERA over 59⅔ innings and earning five saves. In the postseason he had appeared in seven games and contributed significant innings before the family issue arose.
His absence from the World Series roster and the victory parade transformed what should have been a moment of joy into a quiet reminder of the human side of professional sport. In the midst of sweeping up World Series confetti and hoisting the championship trophy, the Dodgers organization recognized that Vesia’s absence was less of a missing piece—from a performance standpoint—and far more of a personal question the franchise did not want to ignore. As team president Andrew Friedman said, “This is so much bigger than baseball.”
Teammates were quick to note the void. Pitcher Will Klein, who earned praise for his own playoff run, publicly acknowledged that Vesia’s presence had been felt all year. “We’ve all messaged him,” Klein said following Game 7. “We just want him to know that he’s in our hearts, and we did this all for him.”
And the sentiment extended beyond the Dodgers clubhouse. In a rare moment of cross-team solidarity, the Blue Jays bullpen also paid tribute to Vesia: during Game 6 the relievers wrote “51” on their caps, matching the number Vesia wears. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, visibly moved by the gesture, called the moment “heartbreaking” and added that for the players to do that “speaks to how much respect and love they have for one another.”
For Vesia, the timing must have felt strange. Just months earlier, in April 2025, he and Kayla announced they were expecting their first child, a baby girl. The milestones of a young family were quietly converging with the bright lights of October’s postseason push. Then the news broke: Vesia would not join the Dodgers for the World Series. And though baseball fans watched for him on the mound, none arrived.
In sports, championships are built on talent and depth; but they are also sustained by trust, camaraderie and feeling. The Dodgers’ bullpen this year leaned on Vesia, in part because his numbers were impressive (career ERA of 2.67 over 295 appearances). Yet even with his arms, the club stressed that his value was as much personal as professional, and that stepping away was in no way a detriment to what the organization stood for. By excusing him from the roster rather than placing him on a temporary family-leave list, the Dodgers cleared the way for him to focus on home, and for his teammates to carry the load.
The moment of celebration on November 3 thus took on a nuanced tone. Downtown Los Angeles roared for its champions — but somewhere on the sidelines there existed a quiet space for the man who wasn’t in uniform. When the team rolled through the city, garnering cheers and parades, Alex Vesia remained absent, but his shadow loomed large. The team’s victory belonged to all of them — yet that day also belonged to a player whose heart was with his family first.
As the Dodgers close out the season with back-to-back titles and a narrative of dynasty emerging around them, it is worth remembering that behind every pitch, every save, every celebration, there is a life off the field. For Vesia and Kayla, this personal matter is not part of the stats sheet, but it is part of their story. And for the Dodgers community, honoring him in his absence spoke volumes about their culture.
In a sport defined by spotlight and stats, this is a moment defined by respect. No inning chart could capture it, no ERA could tally it. Not being present at a parade or not assigned a World Series roster spot is rarely framed as part of a championship, but in this case it is. Alex Vesia may not have been in front of the cheering crowds, but the crowd—and his club—was still there for him.
In the days ahead, the Dodgers will likely continue to issue updates when they feel appropriate, and for fans and observers there will be curiosity as to how Vesia re-enters baseball life in 2026. But for this moment, the story is less about a reliever’s absence and more about humanity in the midst of triumph. And that may matter more than any stat line ever will.
