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The start of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 2026 season was supposed to be Alex Vesia’s first as a father, but the unimaginable happened.
Before the World Series, the reliever left the team to deal with a “deeply personal matter” and did not pitch in the Fall Classic.
Days after the Dodgers won the World Series, he and his wife announced that their infant daughter had died.
Vesia returned to Chavez Ravine on Thursday for opening day, which his wife said was “very bittersweet.”
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Alex Vesia of the Los Angeles Dodgers returns to the dugout during Game 3 of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium on October 16, 2025 in Los Angeles. (Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
“What I wouldn’t give to have my daughter Sterling here, always carrying her in my heart,” Vesia’s wife, Kayla, said in an Instagram post.
In his first spring training press conference of the year, Vesia called his wife “the strongest person I know” and “a support system for me as much as I am for her.”
“Life can change in an instant. For us, 10 minutes is all we need,” Vesia said in February. “Sterling Sol was the most beautiful little girl in the world. We were able to hold her, change her diaper, read to her and love her. Our time together was too short. Kay and I will keep those precious moments and memories to ourselves.
Alex Vesia of the Los Angeles Dodgers during the eighth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on May 28, 2025 in Cleveland. (Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)
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“Moving away from the team, from the brothers that I go to war with every day, was difficult, but it was also an easy decision because my family needed me. We were still watching every pitch of the World Series, and for us, in many ways, that was a light in our darkness.
“I wasn’t prepared to not bring my baby home, but we take her with us every day. It’s been hard, but we’re doing well.”
Sterling died between Game 2 and Game 3 when the series was tied at one game apiece. During the Fall Classic, Toronto Blue Jays relievers wrote Vesia’s jersey number, 51, on their caps.
Kayla Vesia and Alex Vesia attend Netflix Is A Joke Festival Presents: Dodgers Comedy Night at the Orpheum Theater on May 8, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix)
Vesia did not pitch in the Dodgers’ 8-2 season-opening victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, but he will have a chance to get over the hump Friday in Los Angeles.
Vesia has a 2.36 ERA over his last two seasons.
