Dodgers trade Dylan Floro to Marlins for Alex Vesia & prospect

For a few hours there, the Dodgers’ left-handed reliever depth was looking a little bit thin. But shortly after dealing southpaw Adam Kolarek to the A’s, the Dodgers got another in Alex Vesia from the Marlins, in exchange for right-hander Dylan Floro.

Miami also sent minor league pitcher Kyle Hurt to the Dodgers in the deal.

Vesia made his major league debut for Miami in 2020, but got his head kicked in his first big league stint, allowing 14 of his 27 batters faced to reach base, with an 18.69 ERA and three home runs allowed in 4⅓ innings, with more walks (seven) than strikeouts (five).

The 17th-round draft pick in 2018 had a breakout year across both Class-A levels and Double-A, with a 1.76 ERA and 100 strikeouts (a 38.2-percent strikeout rate) in 66⅔ innings, with 19 walks.

Vesia was optioned for only 18 days in 2020, two days shy of using up an option year, so he still has three option years remaining. The left-hander, who turns 25 in April, has 136 days of major league service time.

He joins Victor Gonzalez, Scott Alexander, and Garrett Cleavinger as left-handed relievers on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster.

Floro had a 2.59 ERA in 25 games for the Dodgers last year, with 19 strikeouts and four walks in 24⅓ innings. The right-hander had a 5.06 ERA in six postseason appearances, with seven strikeouts and one walk, but he etched himself in franchise lore by utilizing his rediscovered changeup, throwing it three times to strike out the hottest hitter on the planet, Randy Arozarena, to squash a rally in the second inning of the clinching Game 6 of the World Series.

Floro in parts of three seasons with the Dodgers had a 3.10 ERA in 98⅔. With a 133 ERA+ with Los Angeles, he’s one of only 19 Dodgers ever with at least a 130 ERA+ in at least 100 games.

In January, Floro avoided salary arbitration with the Dodgers, agreeing to a one-year deal worth $975,000 in 2021.

Hurt was drafted by the Marlins in the fifth round out of USC last year, and played prep baseball at Torrey Pines High School in San Diego.

The Dodgers’ 40-man roster remains full.