LOS ANGELES -- Michael Kopech’s woes in 2025 continue.
A day after walking two of the three batters he faced in the seventh inning on Thursday, Kopech is headed back to the injured list with right knee inflammation, the Dodgers announced on Friday.
“This is a tough one, because obviously, with what we've seen, it hasn't been consistent,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He's going through some things physically and certainly is pitchable, and those are his words. But it's just not the Kopech, the standard that he is as a pitcher.”
Kopech is dealing “with a couple different things right now,” with Roberts adding that the team didn't even know what to put on the official announcement. The Dodgers recalled reliever Will Klein as the corresponding move.
Kopech has had two stints on the 60-day IL this season. He went down with a right shoulder impingement during Spring Training and returned in June, only to be sidelined again less than a month later with right knee inflammation.
Since returning on Sept. 1, Kopech has struggled with a 6.75 ERA and nine walks in six appearances. Just 62 of the 117 pitches he’s thrown in that span have been strikes.
“I really haven’t been able to have a consistent workload this year with the IL stints that I have had,” Kopech said. “Getting in a rhythm isn’t exactly the easiest thing to do right now. There’s probably various reasons for that.”
Kopech isn’t the only Dodgers right-handed reliever who has experienced difficulties this season. Kirby Yates, a highly touted free-agent signing last offseason, is having his worst qualified season since 2016. Blake Treinen has had his ups and downs. The team was relying on Kopech coming back strong from his knee injury, but that hasn’t happened.
“We’re in the middle of trying to lock down this division title and put ourselves in a good spot going into the postseason,” Kopech said. “It’s obviously something I want to be a part of. It’s a special group. I care for these guys. I want to win games with them, and when I realize I’m making it harder on us to win games, it’s not a fun thing to accept. So yeah, it’s really frustrating.”
Another layer of frustration could be Kopech’s impending free agency at the end of this season. He’s talked at length about how important this final stretch before the postseason is both as a team and on an individual level.
With Kopech sidelined and the bullpen as a whole stumbling, the Dodgers do have some more right-handed options they could possibly turn to. Brock Stewart is expected to rejoin the team as soon as next week. Roki Sasaki is in a similar boat, but the Dodgers could opt to be more cautious with him. Both Stewart and Sasaki are scheduled to make rehab appearances with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday. Ben Casparius and Kyle Hurt could be brought up as well, with Roberts recently alluding to Hurt’s “playoff-caliber stuff.”