Brock Stewart was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers more than a decade ago, and after a long road, he now finds himself back with the organization looking to help them repeat as World Series champions.
The Dodgers acquired Stewart from the Minnesota Twins for James Outman just hours before the MLB trade deadline. It marked a homecoming for the 33-year-old, who made his MLB debut with the Dodgers two years after being drafted in 2014.
Stewart pitched with the Dodgers for parts of four seasons from 2016-2019, and after being designated for assignment, he was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays. That was the beginning of a rough stretch for Stewart.
He was removed from the Blue Jays 40-man roster and selected by the Chicago Cubs in the Rule 5 Draft before the 2020 season, but did not play due to the cancellation of the Minor League season. Stewart signed a Minor League deal with the Dodgers the following season, but underwent Tommy John surgery and did not pitch in 2021.
The right-hander caught on with the Twins in 2022, and by 2023, found himself in the Majors once again, three years after his last appearance. Stewart began to break out that season as a reliever, but injuries derailed him and in 2024, he underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery.
Finally in 2025, Stewart has had the chance to shine. He’s been one of the top relievers in baseball and things have finally seemed to click after all those years when he was primarily a starter or long relief man.
Over that time to return, Stewart said “quite a bit” changed for him.
“I could go on for a long time. Mental maturity, physical maturity, a lot of hard work. As cliché as it sounds, hard work does pay off,” he said.
“There were points in my career that were pretty low. After the 2019 season, I was DFA’d and outrighted off Toronto’s roster, and then I battled through some injuries after that, including a Minor League deal with the Dodgers but I had Tommy John and didn’t pitch in ’21. So just coming back from that, I worked really hard.
“I worked with Tread Athletics in Charlotte, North Carolina. Tread is a company similar to Driveline; pitcher development company that works on really all things pitching. How you’re moving, how your arm is moving, pitch characteristics, getting bigger, faster, stronger, trying to gain more velo.
“So I worked with them, worked hard and kind of as I worked through the process of coming back from the injuries and worked every day at Tread, you kind of get addicted to the process and get addicted to the work that it takes.
“I saw the work was paying off, so that made me work even harder and continue to work. I tried to take things one day at a time and do what I needed to do to put myself in the best position to be able to help. It’s been quite a journey, but pretty happy with my stuff is at right now and how I’m feeling, so just looking to keep going.”
In 2016, Stewart averaged 93.2 mph on his fastball, and by 2018, it was down to 90.9 mph. In his final season in the Majors before 2023, Stewart’s fastball velocity was 91.7 mph.
But upon his return to the Majors, Stewart has averaged more than 96 mph in each of the last three seasons, topping out at an average of 97.3 mph in 2023. His changeup also averages 90.6 mph compared to the 81-83 mph range it previously sat in, and Stewart’s sinker has also seen a roughly 4-5 mph jump up to 96.1 mph.
The velocity increase has certainly helped Stewart find success, but it also came as a surprise to him.
“I didn’t really see that coming, to be honest with you,” he admitted. “I just wanted another chance at professional baseball. Like I said, I was sitting at home, injured, watching the Dodgers, watching the Twins, watching teams on TV, just hoping I would get back there one day.
“I didn’t know how realistic it was to be back in the big leagues, but like I said, I worked hard, and that hard work has paid off.”
Overall this season, Stewart has pitched to a 2.38 ERA across 34 innings with a 29.5% strikeout rate, 7.9% walk rate and 1.09 WHIP. Opponents are also hitting just .208 against him.
That effectiveness has found him often called upon in high-leverage situations, and he’s recorded 14 holds this year.
“When it comes to pitching leverage innings and getting leverage outs, I just try to treat it like I have a cool opportunity to go help the team,” Stewart said. “Every time I run out from the bullpen, kind of just tell myself, ‘Here we go. Fun opportunity to do something cool, help the team.’
“And whatever happens, happens. Just try to control what I can control, and hope for the best.”
The Dodgers are now looking for Stewart to help solidify their bullpen, roughly a decade after he first joined the team trying to help them as a starting pitcher prospect.
Dodgers focused on high-leverage relief pitcher
The primary goal for the Dodgers at the trade deadline this year was acquiring a right-handed relief pitcher who is capable of pitching in high-leverage situations.
They were connected to Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Ryan Helsley and Pete Fairbanks, among others. All but Fairbanks wound up getting traded for strong returns that the Dodgers seemingly were against competing with.
But the Dodgers deal for Stewart only required them to part with Outman, who had no clear role with the team.
“Being able to reunite with Brock, we felt like he’s in the upper tier of right-handed relievers,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said.
“He’s been absolutely dominant against right this year, and performing really well. And then obviously knowing the person and how hard he works, and the relationships he’s had here, we were really excited to get him back in the mix.”
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