Among the current group of Los Angeles Dodgers free agents is Michael Kopech, who was limited to only 14 games this past season due to separate shoulder and knee injuries.
Kopech began the year on the 15-day injured list because of a right shoulder impingement that was believed to be related to lingering effects from forearm inflammation that surfaced during the 2024 postseason.
Kopech wasn’t activated until June 7 and landed back on the injured list July 1 due to right knee inflammation. That was followed by undergoing surgery to repair the meniscus in his right knee.
The 29-year-old returned in September when rosters expanded and wound up making six appearances before being shut down for the remainder of the season.
Kopech’s market has been slow developing to this point, but it appears that the San Francisco Giants are interested in signing him, via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle:
According to a source, the Giants have been in touch with Michael Kopech, who had multiple injuries with the Dodgers the past two years but who had good results when healthy; the former White Sox starter did have 15 saves in 2024.
The Giants have been searching for bullpen reinforcements with Randy Rodríguez expected to miss the entire the 2026 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and Kopech would represent an interesting buy-low candidate.
The right-hander is coming off an injury-plagued 2025 campaign, but has shown in the past that he can be a dominant late-inning reliever when healthy.
Kopech was a key member of the Dodgers bullpen during their 2024 World Series championship run and presumably would be open to signing a short-term contract so that he can rebuild his value and potentially become a free agent again next year.
Michael Kopech’s Dodgers career
The Dodgers acquired Kopech in a three-team deal with the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals at the 2024 trade deadline.
He went on to post a 1.13 ERA and 0.79 WHIP with six saves in 24 games before making 10 additional appearances during the postseason.
Over parts of two seasons with the Dodgers, Kopech went 4-0 with a 1.54 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 10.5 strikeouts per nine in 35 innings across 38 games.
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