At the start of the 2025 season, Will Klein was toiling in Triple-A with the Seattle Mariners, but he ended it by being a saving grace for the Dodgers with a legendary Game 3 performance in the World Series. Klein made his big league debut in 2024 with the Kansas City Royals, later being packaged […]
At the start of the 2025 season, Will Klein was toiling in Triple-A with the Seattle Mariners, but he ended it by being a saving grace for the Dodgers with a legendary Game 3 performance in the World Series.
Klein made his big league debut in 2024 with the Kansas City Royals, later being packaged in a deal to the Oakland Athletics for reliever Lucas Erceg. Klein struggled across eight games between both teams, allowing nine runs on 12 hits across 7 1/3 innings of work. He was designated for assignment on Jan. 17, and was dealt to the Seattle Mariners four days later.
Klein began the 2025 season with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, where he struggled over 21 1/3 innings of work by posting a 7.17 ERA with opposing hitters batting .277 against him. He didn’t see any time with the big league team before being designated for assignment by Seattle on May 31, ultimately being dealt to the Dodgers two days later for left-handed reliever Joe Jacques.
Klein appeared in six games for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets before being called up on June 21, with right-handed reliever Jack Little being demoted back to Triple-A. Klein pitched in two games for the Dodgers in June, tossing 3 2/3 shutout innings with five strikeouts before he was quickly demoted, as Luis García was activated off the injured list.
The bulk of Klein’s season in the big leagues came in July, where he endured some troublesome outings such as giving up two runs in a 9-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on July 7 and allowing three runs on three walks (no hits) in a 10-7 loss to the Minnesota Twins on July 22. He posted a 5.14 ERA across seven innings in July, and he spent the entire month of August in the minor leagues. He was later called back up for the final nine games of the regular season, where he tossed 4 2/3 shutout innings while striking out six and walking just one.
The Dodgers faced some tough decisions as to how they would construct their postseason bullpen, considering options such as Tanner Scott, Blake Treinen and Kirby Yates dealt with injuries or severely and consistently underperformed. Klein was added to the postseason pitching staff as a “last-ditch” option, only appearing in a blowout loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 1 of the World Series.
Everything changed on Monday, October 27. The last time the Dodgers played a World Series Game 3 at home was in 2018 against the Boston Red Sox, which lasted 18 innings. The Dodgers experienced another marathon of a game in Game 3, as it also lasted 18 innings. After the 14th inning, the Dodgers only had one bullpen options available, that being Will Klein. Not only did Klein keep Toronto at bay to give the Dodgers a fighting chance at winning, he threw a career-high in pitches at 72, tossed a career-high four shutout innings and struck out a career-high five hitters while only allowing two walks and a hit. Freddie Freeman thankfully prevented the Dodgers from having to send Klein out for a potential fifth inning or have to reach into their rotation for help. His efforts did not go unnoticed, as his glove from Game 3 now finds a home in Cooperstown at the Baseball Hall of Fame Museum.
2025 particulars
Age: 25
Stats: 1-1, 2.35 ERA, 1.565 WHIP, 2.74 FIP, 21 K, 10 BB, 15 1/3 IP, 181 ERA+, 0.2 rWAR, 0.3 fWAR
Postseason: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K
Salary: unknown
Game of the year
Nothing can top Klein’s signature performance in Game 3 of the World Series. He instantly made his name known as a postseason legend and saved the Dodgers from having to go with their rotation as viable bullpen options.
Roster status
Will Klein has 81 days of big league service time and is on the Dodgers 40-man roster.
Category: General Sports
