Double down on this singular sensation

Vesia left off the roster as matter 'so much bigger than baseball'

- JACK HARRIS

ALEX VESIA, one of the Dodgers' top relievers, won't pitch in the Series. "We'll be thinking about him," manager Dave Roberts says.

The Dodgers released their roster for the World Series on Friday, and a key piece in the bullpen was missing, as expected.

Left-handed reliever Alex Vesia was not on the roster, as he and his wife handle what the club said on Thursday was "a deeply personal family matter."

Vesia was also not placed on the Family Medical Emergency List - which would have allowed him to rejoin the roster after a minimum of three days.

Instead, Vesia will now only be eligible to rejoin the Dodgers roster in the event of an injury.

And even then, manager Dave Roberts said, he will "most likely" not be available for the series.

Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers' president of baseball operations, said the team did not place Vesia on the Family Medical Emergency List - which would have come with a maximum stay of seven days - because they did not want him to feel pressured to return.

"This is so much bigger than baseball," Friedman said. "And for us, it was doing whatever small part we could to just 100% be supportive." Vesia's absence is a significant blow for a bullpen that had counted him as one of its most trusted arms (especially from the left side) this October.

In the regular season, Vesia had a 3.02 ERA in 68 appearances (the second-most on the team). In the playoffs, he had a 3.86 ERA in a team-high seven outings.