LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers added a left-handed relief pitcher to their 40-man roster again Tuesday, before the deadline to protect him from next month’s Rule 5 draft
It worked out pretty well last year.
A year ago, Jack Dreyer was the Dodgers’ only last-minute addition to the 40-man roster. Unheralded at the time, Dreyer made the Dodgers’ roster out of spring training and became a staple of their bullpen last season. His 67 appearances were third on the team.
This year’s candidate to follow Dreyer’s path is Ronan Kopp. The 23-year-old Kopp was added to the 40-man roster on Tuesday.
A 12th-round draft pick in 2021 out of MLB’s Draft League, the 6-foot-7 Kopp made a good first impression when he struck out 108 of the 281 batters he faced in 62⅓ innings for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga and Great Lakes.
Kopp has continued to put up impressive strikeout numbers, averaging 14.3 per nine innings throughout his five seasons in the Dodgers’ farm system. He split 2025 between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City, striking out 91 in 57⅔ innings while posting a 3.43 ERA between the two levels.
Kopp’s high school coach in the Phoenix area was former Angels outfielder Tim Salmon, who compared Kopp to former San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner, in part because of his size and unusual delivery.
The Dodgers currently have 39 players on their 40-man roster.