Former A's Trade Piece Just Became a Legend for the Los Angeles Dodgers
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He arguably wasn't even supposed to be on the World Series roster, but on Monday night as the Los Angeles Dodgers walked off the Toronto Blue Jays in the bottom of the 18th inning, it was former A's relief pitcher Will Klein that ended up with the win. On a roster full of superstar players and big salaries, it was Klein, the 26th man, that played the hero.
With the Jays and Dodgers tied at five runs apiece and trading zeroes into the 15th inning, Los Angeles decided to unleash their apparent secret weapon in Klein. The hard-throwing right-hander ended up tossing four scoreless innings, giving up just one hit, walking a pair, and striking out five.
His 72 pitches (49 strikes) were nearly as many as Blue Jays' starter Max Scherzer, who lasted 4 1/3 innings in this one. Those 72 pitches are roughly 14% of the total pitches he's thrown in the big leagues, according to MLB.com.
Klein also hadn't pitched in the big leagues since September 26 against the Seattle Mariners, so he was obviously going to be fresh, but he was also sharp in this one, which had been the knock on him before.
He kept notching scoreless frames against a Springer-less Jays' lineup, and in the top of the 18th he teetered on the edge, but never broke. After walking Vladamir Guerrero Jr., Klein faced Daulton Varsho with two outs and a runner on. The battled for 10 pitches, including six foul balls, before Varsho walked to first.
Klein then advanced the runners on a wild pitch, putting the go-ahead run at third base. This time, he won a six-pitch battle with Tyler Heineman, securing the strikeout that led to the bottom of the inning and Freddie Freeman's walk-off homer.
The A's had acquired Klein as part of the Lucas Erceg trade with the Kansas City Royals in 2024, and he was seen as a potential Erceg himself internally. They both had big stuff and less command when they landed with the Athletics, but Erceg turned into a reliable piece of the 'pen while Klein was less ready for that immediate push.
He made his A's debut in Oakland against the Los Angeles Dodgers, walking one and recording one out. After a scoreless inning against the Chicago White Sox, he was touched up on the road against the New York Mets, giving up five runs on two hits and three walks, recording just one out that evening.
He was optioned back to the minors shortly after that appearance, and would pitch just four more times with the Las Vegas Aviators before landing on the 7-day IL at the end of August, ending his '24 campaign.
He remained with the A's until mid-January when the club signed free agent José Leclerc. With a veteran relief arm on board, they designated Klein for assignment and ended up trading him to the Seattle Mariners days later for Other Considerations.
Klein's journey continued with the M's this season, but at the end of May he held a 7.17 ERA with Triple-A Tacoma, so he was shipped to the Dodgers for Joe Jacques. Now Klein is the hero for a day in the World Series, and could end up going down as a legend of this run.
The 25-year-old has been let go by three different teams in the span of a little over a year, hadn't pitched in the postseason until last night, and was the last man up in the bullpen. Now he's a household name.
Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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