Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
After Evan Phillips signed with the Braves and nearly half the league being in on Alex Vesia, it’s clear the Dodgers are going to need some veteran help when it comes to the bullpen. So, when Jesse Rogers of ESPN dropped this nugget on Saturday, it made sense.
Hot stove starting to simmer. Reliever Jonathan Loáisiga getting closer, per source. 5 teams involved. 2.42 ERA in 67 games last yr for Az. Dodgers among them
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) November 14, 2026
Jonathan Loaisiga, 32, is coming off a strong season with the Diamondbacks that saw him pitch to a 2.42 ERA, 2.88 FIP and a 13.4 K-BB% in 67 innings. The former Yankees’ product struggled on the mound and to stay healthy with the Bronx Bombers in every year except 2021, when he had a 2.17 ERA, 2.58 FIP and a career-best 18.7 K-BB%. The lack of strikeouts and whiffs is a bit concerning, especially in today’s game, but his Statcast ledger is a dream for teams, including the Dodgers.
With the lack of strikeouts also comes limiting walks and inducing weak contact, as well as keeping the ball on the ground. His 56.4 GB% was 11th-best among qualified relievers, just behind Aaron Ashby. The Dodgers were in the middle-third of the league as a team in ground ball rate, so a adding someone who is closer to prime-Blake Treinen when it comes to getting grounders could be beneficial for all parties. Because of his high ground ball rate, he limited the number of home runs hit against him. His 5.5 HR/FB% was 15th-best, as he allowed just three home runs last season.
His best trait is limiting hard contact. His 85.2 MPH exit velocity against was 9th-best in the majors among all pitchers. Only Edgardo Henriquez posted a better number (84.1 MPH) in the Dodgers’ bullpen in 2026. That, and his ability to keep the ball in the yard are probably what interests the Dodgers most.
It isn’t all good with Loaisiga, though. Left-handed hitters gave him much more trouble than righties in 2026.
vs. LHP
.286/.336/.437, .327 wOBA
vs. RHP
.179/.203/.211, .187 wOBA
That’s a pretty substantial chasm between lefties and righties. His wOBA against lefties was 160th of 250 pitchers (minimum 30 innings), so there’s definitely room for improvement. But where does that come from? Here’s a breakdown of his changeup and 4-seam fastball — the two pitches he threw most to left-handed hitters in 2026.
| Pitch | % | BA | xBA | wOBA | xwOBA | Whiff | EV |
| CH | 44.5 | .269 | .212 | .309 | .255 | 33.1 | 83.3 |
| 4FB | 24.1 | .154 | .205 | .204 | .309 | 17.2 | 86.9 |
Perhaps an uptick in his newly added cut fastball against lefties could help. He only threw 67 last season, and 53 of them were to lefties. The results were somewhat mixed:
- .250 BA
- .328 xBA
- .253 wOBA
- .305 xwOBA
- 25.0 Whiff%
- 86.9 MPH EV
The cutter moves more toward the arm side, rather than the glove side, which is a bit peculiar. Typically, right-handers want the cutter to move into a left-handed hitter, not away/backing up. But that’s why Loaisiga’s does. It may be an organizational philosophy, as Merrill Kelly and Taylor Clarke — both Diamondback righties — were second- (4.0) and fourth (3.8) in baseball (minimum 50 pitches) in arm-side cut fastball movement, and they were even more pronounced than Loaisiga’s 2.5 inches of arm-side horizontal break.
His curveball doesn’t appear to be a viable option, and he knows it. He’s thrown it to lefties just 4.6% of the time in his more than 5,000 MLB pitches. The results have been solid on the surface, but the metrics behind the pitch show why it isn’t viable. Of all 174 pitchers who threw curveballs at least 50 curveballs in 2026, the vertical drop on his curveball was the worst in baseball by a decent margin. It had a total vertical drop of 33.4 inches, almost four inches less than German Marquez (who hasn’t been anything close to good in half-dozen years). Despite the lack of vertical movement, it still grades out as one of his best Stuff+ pitches, which may say more about the Stuff+ model than it does about his curveball.
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If the Dodgers were to sign him, Mark Prior would have quite the task ahead of him if they wanted to coax more strikeouts out of Loaisiga’s right arm. If not, he’s a good reliever as he stands. He’s not a full-time high-leverage guy in the mold of Henriquez or Phillips, but for a team that has already lost Phillips and might lose Veisa, a stable righty who can suppress damage might be just what the Dodger bullpen needs. They’ll always find the strikeouts, so finding someone who’s good at limiting damage on balls in play is just as valuable.
