The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Michael Kopech on the 15-day injured list and recalled Will Klein prior to Friday’s matchup against the San Francisco Giants.
The move marks Kopech’s third IL stint this season, as he began 2025 sidelined with a right shoulder impingement and then started dealing with right knee inflammation back in June.
The right-hander returned from his latest IL stint on Sept. 1 and made six appearances prior to Friday. September has not been kind to Kopech, with three earned runs and nine walks to just four strikeouts across four innings of work.
The official injury designation is right knee inflammation, which is what caused him to miss a little over two months previously. But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the reliever is dealing with a couple of different ailments, including his elbow and shoulder.
But even with time running out this season, the team still has hope that he can be an option for the playoff roster.
“Obviously with what we’ve seen, it hasn’t been consistent,” Roberts said. “He’s going through some things physically and certainly it’s pitchable, those are his words, but it’s just not the standard that he is as a pitcher. So we’re going to IL him. I’m not exactly sure what’s the note, because there’s actually a few of them.
“But man, this guy is such a great competitor. We’ll try to reset him and keep him alive for potentially the postseason.”
Roberts went on to confirm that Kopech had been dealing with injuries since returning from right knee surgery.
“It’s just kind of been one of those things that if it’s not one thing, it’s something else,” Roberts said. “Again, it’s pitchable, but just to the standard we expect from him and he expects of himself, that’s just not where it’s at right now.”
Because the Dodgers have little margin for error down the stretch of the regular season, they made the decision to replace his spot on the roster with a healthier option in Klein. Brock Stewart is also expected to return this week, and he should take over that roster spot.
How injuries have effected Michael Kopech in 2025
Following his acquisition at the deadline last season, Kopech was a valuable member of the Dodgers’ bullpen in the second half and postseason. He had a 1.13 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 29 strikeouts in 24 regular season innings and followed that up with a 3.00 ERA in nine postseason innings.
In 2025, he managed a scoreless month of June despite command issues popping up occasionally, like the three walk outing on June 11. But the struggles with command worsened this month as he returned from right knee surgery.
Kopech believes his health has played a role, particularly the inconsistent workload due to multiple injuries.
“It could be part of it. I think there’s various things,” Kopech said. “I haven’t really been able to have a consistent workload this year with the IL stints I’ve had. Getting in a rhythm isn’t exactly the easiest thing to do right now, but there’s probably various reasons for that. So it could be part of that.”
It has been an exasperating season for Kopech as a result, but time will tell if he will be able to make an impact again in 2025.
“Very frustrating,” he said. “We’re in the middle of this division title and trying to put ourselves in a good spot going into the postseason. 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. When I realize that I’m making it harder on us to win games, it’s not a fun thing to accept. So it’s really frustrating.”
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