🔥 HOT NEWS: Back on the mound at last, Alex Vesia is welcomed by a wave of cheers from the faithful ⚡ .NL

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The healing will probably never be complete for Alex Vesia. But at least it has begun.

Vesia returned to game action on Monday afternoon for the first time since he and his wife, Kayla, lost their newborn daughter shortly after her birth in October.

Vesia retired the side in order, striking out two of the Seattle Mariners, including Colt Emerson to end the inning.

In typical fashion, Vesia stalked off the mound after getting Emerson. This time, he got a warm standing ovation from fans, aware of the family tragedy he had endured last fall. Vesia tapped his chest, acknowledging their support.

“It’s been hard, actually. Hard in a good way. Because I want to interact with the fans and all that, but I know I have a job to do,” Vesia said. “Even on the back fields the first day, we walk out the doors, and (there were) cheers and lots of love.

“It means a lot to myself, and Kay too.”

When he reached the dugout after his inning on Monday, Vesia was greeted by all of his teammates, offering high-fives and back slaps.

“That guy has gone through things that you’d never wish on your worst enemy,” Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing said. “The guy that he is, the character that he carries, it’s impressive.

You can’t ask a lot of men on this earth to go out and do the things that he does after something like that happening. It’s pretty heartwarming every time you see it happen.”

Early in camp, Vesia read an expansive statement to the media, talking about the loss of his daughter for the first time since he left the team on the eve of the World Series.

He acknowledged that he and his wife have been undergoing therapy to help them deal with the tragedy. But Vesia also acknowledged that returning to the team is probably the best thing for him.

“You know, I just want to have fun on the mound, honestly,” Vesia said Monday. “I just want to be able to ‘spazz’ out and be myself out there. Because right now, I feel really good out there. It’s just me and myself and baseball.”

Highly emotional and intense on the mound, Vesia didn’t wait for his return to game action to “spazz out.” During two live batting practice sessions, he faced Shohei Ohtani. He struck him out both times and punctuated it each time with a loud “Yeah!’ when the third strike got past Ohtani.

“Honestly, that was cool. I hadn’t competed like that in quite some time,” Vesia said, smiling. “And Shohei is the most competitive guy that I know. And I was ready for it. That was fun. That was a good little tune-up.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called the ovation for Vesia “the highlight of the day” on Monday.

“I think baseball players, like we’ve talked about, are pretty good at compartmentalizing, but obviously that’s something certainly hard to do,” Roberts said. “I do think that getting back to the work in the weight room and throwing bullpens and preparing for the season – I do think that there’s some therapy in that.”

PITCHING PLANS

Right-hander Gavin Stone is scheduled to make his spring return from shoulder surgery on Tuesday in a Cactus League game against the Cleveland Guardians. Roki Sasaki is scheduled to make his first start of the spring on Wednesday followed by Tyler Glasnow on Thursday.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is scheduled to make a second Cactus League start on Friday against the San Francisco Giants and then leave for Japan to prepare for the World Baseball Classic.

STARTING ROTATION

Missing from the Dodgers’ pitching plans is Blake Snell. The left-hander has yet to throw off a mound this spring, taking a slower approach to his buildup after last season’s shoulder problems which began in spring training.

“I don’t know when he’s scheduled off the mound, but I do know in talking to Blake, catch-play flat ground, he was right around 86-87 (mph), so kind of easy letting it go,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Obviously, he’s behind. I think that’s apparent. But nothing of concern.”

It’s fairly apparent that Snell won’t start the season on the active roster or join the starting rotation until some later point.

“Time’s ticking,” Roberts acknowledged. “But like I told him the other day – Opening Day is not necessarily a hard-and-fast target for us. It’s really not. Whenever he’s ready, he’s ready.”

Emmet Sheehan was slowed slightly by illness this spring, but he threw live batting practice during Monday morning’s workout. Sheehan is a likely candidate to fill out the starting rotation, which is expected to include six pitchers in order to keep Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani on a similar once-a-week schedule as they were for much of last season.

“What Emmet did for us last year, he’s in a good spot,” Roberts said. “Most important thing, he’s got to build up. I expect him to start camp, break camp with us in some capacity. But that’s all contingent on certainly performance but also health.”

BIG PAPI

Chelsea Freeman, the wife of Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, announced on Instagram that the family is expecting a fourth child to join their three sons (Charley, Brandon and Maximus). It will be the second of their four children to be born with a surrogate.

Freddie Freeman surprisingly decided not to play for Canada in the World Baseball Classic and hinted last month at the reason, citing “a personal reason” that would become clear in the future.

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