9 Dodgers Who Won't Return for World Series Champs in 2025

The Los Angeles Dodgers are World Series champs, but they won't be able to keep their entire roster together as they pursue a repeat in 2025.

Oct 27, 2024; New York, NY, USA;Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler speaks at a press conference prior to game three of the World Series against the New York Yankees at Yankees Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images / John Jones-Imagn Images

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5. Joe Kelly

This is the perfect offseason for the Dodgers to get younger while maximizing the outstanding core of the team. Joe Kelly has been a fan-favorite reliever for years, having spent five total seasons with the organization, though he's at the end of his career and doesn't represent the kind of high-upside play that'll maximize Los Angeles' championship window.

Kelly fell off a statistical cliff in 2024 with a 4.78 ERA in 35 appearances. Prior to being acquired by the Dodgers, Kelly had a 6.08 ERA with the White Sox in 2022 and a 4.97 mark in 2023. He fooled some with a 1.74 ERA after his 2023 trade, though his diminishing skills were on full display this season.

He's 36 and did not appear in the postseason. If Los Angeles intended to keep him moving forward, Kelly would've been a logical reliever to keep on the team.

Since the Dodgers elected to bench him, the writing is already on the wall for the controversial veteran. He'll go down remembered as an effective reliever capable of great things, but it's clear it's time to say goodbye before things unravel.

Assuming Los Angeles is successful in bolstering the pitching staff in free agency, the bullpen needs to trend toward younger, high-upside throwers. Kelly isn't that, so he's likely played his final game in a Dodgers uniform.

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