3 Dodgers World Series Champions Who Won’t Return in 2025 and Why

The Los Angeles Dodgers have spent a fair amount of money securing players like Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Will Smith and Yoshinobu Yamamoto for the next five, six or seven years. While that did help them win a World Series, now comes the hard part: repeating. They will also be one of the more aggressive teams in free agency and are looking to add a few more big superstars this season, while also bringing back players like Teoscar Hernandez.

With so much money going to some of the game’s best players, there simply won’t be as much money going to the rest of the roster. The Dodgers will fill out their roster with budget picks, prospects and trade acquisitions.

With that in mind, it’s time to take a look at three upcoming Dodgers free agents who won’t be with the team in 2025.

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These three players are all on this list for different reasons. The best player on this list will be very different from this player.

Jordan Lyles won’t be back with the Dodgers next season because he was far from a competitive arm all season and hasn’t been for quite some time. Lyles played with the Kansas City Royals in 2023 and 2024, where he was absolutely terrible. The Royals eventually released him and he eventually signed with the Dodgers on a minor league deal.

While with the Dodgers, Lyles was a poor minor league pitcher, posting a 6.46 ERA in four starts and 15.1 innings with Los Angeles’ Triple-A team. He just wasn’t good. Not as a Major League branch and not as a Minor League branch. The Dodgers brought him in on a minor league deal to get the veteran. Their rotation was ravaged by injuries all season, so if Lyles had performed well, he might have had an outside shot at making a big league appearance with the Dodgers.

It’s a boring selection, but it’s clear. Jordan Lyles made five appearances in the Dodgers’ minor league system and he won’t be brought back until 2025.

Okay, the second player on this list becomes a legitimate Major League player. One who spent five years in a Dodgers uniform and threw nearly 150 innings with the team. It’s veteran reliever Joe Kelly who will be heading to free agency at the end of the Dodgers’ season.

Kelly, 36, spent 2019, 2020, 2021, half of 2023 and 2024 with the Dodgers and was a solid bullpen for them in three of those five seasons. Unfortunately, the 2024 season was one of his worst full years in a Dodgers uniform. He posted an ERA of almost 5.00 and a WHIP of almost 1.50. He walked 4.5 batters per nine innings in 32 Major League innings in 2024.

Kelly hasn’t had a solid, full season with the Dodgers since 2021. His consistency and reliability are just not there anymore and the Dodgers won’t continue to give him opportunities if he doesn’t repay their investment in him.

Ultimately, the Dodgers will look to build a bullpen full of stars, whether it be through free agency or a few offseason trades. This likely won’t include veteran righty Joe Kelly as part of the 2025 Dodgers roster.

The last player on this list who won’t be back in 2025 is the trade deadline acquisition turned playoff ace. Jack Flaherty.

Now you may wonder why Flaherty would be on this list. He’s been good with the Dodgers. He seems to be very popular in the clubhouse. They’re the Los Angeles Dodgers, so they would have the money to bring him back.

So let me explain why I don’t think he’ll be a Dodger in 2025.

Ohtani, Yamamoto, Glasnow, Kershaw, Gavin Stone, Nick Frasso, Landon Knack, Justin Wrobleski and Bobby Miller are all on the 40-man roster with potential to work their way into the starting rotation next year. This does not apply to Emmet Sheehan and River Ryan, who both underwent Tommy John surgery this season.

Now I understand that not all of these pitchers will pan out, but the Dodgers have an opportunity to acquire a cheaper pitcher through free agency or at the trade deadline if they get desperate again. With so many high-end free agents this offseason, I can’t imagine the Dodgers using $20 million to $25 million per year to bring Flaherty back to Los Angeles.

Maybe I’m wrong, but unless something changes, I imagine Flaherty will end up in a different uniform this season with the highest bidder.