PHOENIX — Alex Vesia trembled before he spoke Friday morning. “Bear with me,” the Los Angeles Dodgers reliever said as he looked down at his phone for words he never expected to read. The first day of pitchers and catchers reporting was supposed to look different for the two-time World Series champion.
Instead, Vesia spoke about his daughter, Sterling Sol Vesia, who died shortly after being born last Oct. 26. Addressing reporters for the first time since, Vesia read a six-minute statement from himself and his wife, Kayla, pausing for a breath to hold back tears.
“I was not prepared to not bring my baby girl home, but we’re carrying her with us every day,” Vesia said. “It’s been hard, but we’re doing OK.”
Vesia, who has emerged as one of the game’s best relievers, stepped away from the Dodgers shortly before the World Series following Sterling’s death. An outpouring of support followed. As his teammates battled the Toronto Blue Jays, they provided reminders that Vesia was on their minds. All of the Dodgers relievers wrote Vesia’s No. 51 on the side of their caps. By Game 6, the Blue Jays bullpen did the same. Watching from home with Kayla, Vesia couldn’t believe what he was seeing when he noticed his jersey number on the side of Toronto reliever Louie Varland’s cap.
So Vesia texted Varland’s brother, Gus, a former teammate.
“The Varlands love you, dude,” Gus Varland responded. “The whole Toronto bullpen has it too. It’s bigger than baseball. We love you all.”
Alex Vesia read from a prepared statement when speaking to reporters this morning, thanking those who offered support after he and his wife, Kayla, lost their daughter during last year’s World Series.
Vesia’s full statement: pic.twitter.com/YaD56ZT7ci
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) February 13, 2026
Watching the World Series, Vesia said, was “a light in our darkness.”
The messages resonated. Contemporaries from across the sport reached out to give their support. A series of Toronto fans donated thousands to the SickKids Foundation in Vesia’s honor. After the Dodgers knocked off the Blue Jays in seven games, many signs along the parade route carried uplifting messages of support for Vesia. The Los Angeles Rams sent a signed jersey with Sterling’s name on it that Vesia said he will keep framed in their home.
“My DMs are basically broken on Instagram from all the love and support that we’ve had,” Vesia said.
Shortly after Sterling’s passing, the Vesias packed up for their offseason home in Arizona. Six days after losing his daughter, Vesia went to work. Working out, he said, was therapeutic. The routine provided a guidepost in grief. Six weeks ago, Kayla and Alex started grief counseling.
“It hasn’t been easy,” he said. “But talking to someone has made a difference.”
Vesia implored others, including the parents he’s gotten to know in the same position, to do the same. What still stands out is the time they had with Sterling. They each got to hold her and change her diaper. They read to her.
“The lesson we’ve learned from this is that life can change in an instant,” Vesia said. “Ten minutes is all it took. … Our time together was far too short. Kay and I will keep those precious moments and memories to ourselves.”
The next step in healing came when Vesia took the mound at 10:22 a.m. The first official bullpen of camp looked in some ways much like the springs before it. As bullpen coach Josh Bard stood in to track Vesia’s pitches, he couldn’t help but nod in approval at what he was seeing.
“Good to have you back,” manager Dave Roberts said when Vesia was done with his handful of pitches. On Vesia’s right hand was a new custom Marucci glove, baby blue with pink accents. Written in script: “Sterling Sol.”
Roberts said he was quick to check in with Vesia after Sterling’s passing before giving him space for much of the winter. Roberts found Vesia at the Dodgers’ facility on Thursday. The two sat and talked for 30 minutes. Roberts mostly just listened.
“You can’t (imagine it),” Roberts, a father of two, said. “I can’t think of anything worse.”
There’s a part of the routine of spring training that has felt nice, Vesia said. The clubhouse welcomed him warmly. He’s expected to fill a valuable role once again in the Dodgers’ bullpen.
Friday didn’t represent closure, nor should it. Friday was difficult, as Vesia repeatedly tapped at his heart as he spoke. When he was done, a Dodgers staffer put his arm around Vesia as he wiped away tears.