Dodgers Star Reliever Suffered Multiple Setbacks, Opening Season on IL

Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Michael Kopech is starting the season on the 15-day injured list. However, the right-hander is feeling good and ramping back up.

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Kopech said his forearm initially felt good early this spring, but he ramped up quicker than his shoulder was prepared for. However, he's all good now.

Michael Kopech said that after his forearm felt good early in camp, he ramped up a little quicker than his shoulder was ready for. That’s all good now, he says — “I feel better than I did last year,” he said.

He also dealt with a stomach bug that shut him down a bit this month.
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“I feel better than I did last year,” he said.

Kopech also dealt with a stomach bug that sidelined him for a bit this month. Earlier in camp, the reliever told Dodgers Nation's Doug McKain that he felt great.

“I wouldn’t say I’m close to 100 percent like close to game action, as far as health-wise, I’m close to 100 percent but there’s steps, there’s kind of a long road back when you have to reset your training,” Kopech said. "Overall I feel good, I’m in good shape, I feel comfortable competing if I had to rush to compete, but I don’t think there’s any rush right now.”

During the Dodgers' World Series run, Kopech revealed that he was only at about 60 percent health-wise.

“I think a lot of people look at the results of what you’re putting out there as how you feel,” Kopech said to the LA Times.

“I was still able to throw 100 mph in the last days of the season, so that’s great. But it was a lot more effort to throw that hard, and it was a lot more intensity and masking things. I definitely wasn’t 100 percent.”

Both Kopech and Evan Phillips have opened the season on the injured list, Thankfully the Dodgers have plenty of reinforcements in the bullpen as the team waits on their return.

“Initially, we were trying to be really careful with their build-up, knowing that they pitched a lot of high-stress innings last year,” manager Dave Roberts said earlier this spring. “So having them start a little bit later isn’t a bad thing. I think that just kind of seeing where they’re at right now, just more encouraged.”

The Dodgers acquired Kopech during the trade deadlilne last season, and he quickly emerged as a top reliever for L.A. He produced a 1.13 ERA across 24 appearances for the Dodgers.

In the postseason, Kopech logged a 3.00 ERA with 10 strikeouts across 10 appearances. He will look to replicate another strong performance in 2025.

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