Dodgers were one of several teams to show early interest in free agent relievers Raisel Iglesias” Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports. Romero noted earlier in the day that talks on relief markets were so active at the GM meeting that there could be some early progress.
Iglesias, who turns 36 in January, has been playing his final game in Atlanta for the past three and a half seasons. He originally signed a four-year, $58MM contract with the Angels, but was traded to the Braves a few months into the contract after a poor start with the 22 Halos.
The 2025 season has not started well for Iglesias. While he was still missing hits and limiting at-bats earlier in the year, he was uncharacteristically hitting home runs like crazy. Iglesias allowed seven shutouts (2.63 HR/9) in his first 24 innings and had a 6.75 ERA. He looked like he might be headed for a losing season, but the former All-Star not only turned things around in early June, but he continued to field as one of MLB’s most effective relievers the rest of the way.
Over the final 43 1/3 innings, Iglesias was dominant with a 1.25 ERA. During that time, he struck out 30.4 percent of his opponents and issued a walk at a 6.3 percent rate. The home run pendulum has swung the other way, as he’s hit just one long ball since June 9 (0.21 HR/9).
It was an extreme season, but Iglesias finished the year with a 3.21 ERA, 27.4% strikeout rate, 6% walk rate, and 1.07 HR/9. All of these numbers are roughly in line with his career scoring numbers. His 14.7 percent swing rate this season is down slightly from previous years, but still a few percentage points above average (tied for 26th among 147 qualified relievers in the 2025 class).
The lack of bullpen depth almost cost the Dodgers a World Series defeat. They improved in the early rounds of the playoffs with a dominant starting pitching staff Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnowwhich helps cover a bullpen hampered by injuries to relievers, such as Evan Phillips, Brusdal Graterol, Brock Stewart and Tanner Scott (Overall, his first year in Los Angeles was a disappointment). Sasaki Riki Club got a solid performance from the left-hander as a vital piece in the late innings Alex Vecia That was true too — at least until a family emergency kept him from playing in the World Series. Finally, with everything hanging in the balance, Yamamoto recorded the final — just a day after throwing 96 pitches in Game 6.
So it’s no surprise to see the Dodgers linked to some high-profile bullpen options early in the offseason. In addition to Iglesias, they have also Devin Williams. Since the length of Iglesias’ contract may be age-restricted, which is not the case with Williams, Iglesias seems more likely to be signed early in the offseason. Signing Iglesias certainly wouldn’t prevent the deep-pocketed Dodgers from making other significant investments in the bullpen, but he would be the first step in deepening a relief corps that has felt too thin throughout the postseason.
