The Dodgers won’t get a shot at a third straight World Series trip, but a few familiar names from their recent past still ended up in the middle of October baseball. Milwaukee’s sweep of Los Angeles in the NLCS shut the door on the Dodgers’ run, and it also set up a Fall Classic that includes two former Dodgers on the Brewers and Rays - plus two more ex-Dodgers who are watching from the sidelines.
Dustin May is the biggest name in that group. Drafted by the Dodgers in the third round in 2016, the right-hander reached the majors in 2019 and was part of Los Angeles’ 2020 championship club.
He didn’t pitch for the Dodgers in 2024 while recovering from Tommy John surgery and an esophageal tear, and injuries ultimately shortened his time in Los Angeles. The Dodgers shipped him to the Boston Red Sox at the 2025 trade deadline for James Tibbs III and Zach Ehrhard, then May signed with the St.
Louis Cardinals in the offseason before being dealt again, this time to the Brewers at the deadline with reliever JoJo Romero. Now healthy, he gets another crack at a ring.
The other former Dodger still in the postseason picture is Rays center fielder Jonny DeLuca. He debuted for Los Angeles in 2023 and posted a .262/.311/.429 line with a .740 OPS, two home runs, six RBI and a 0.3 bWAR in 24 games.
That run in Los Angeles lasted only one season, though, because the Dodgers traded him and Ryan Pepiot to Tampa Bay in the deal that brought Tyler Glasnow west. DeLuca missed time in the 2026 season with a hamstring strain, but he still settled in as Tampa Bay’s starting center fielder and put together a strong year: .266/.300/.429, a .729 OPS, 11 homers, 50 RBI and a 1.7 bWAR in 112 games.
He’s now chasing the first championship of his career.
Not every former Dodger made it this far. Gavin Lux is on the Rays roster, but a shoulder injury wiped out his entire season.
Los Angeles took him No. 20 overall in the 2016 MLB Draft, and he debuted in 2019, but he never quite matched the expectations that came with that pedigree. The Dodgers moved him to the Cincinnati Reds before the 2025 season in a trade for outfield prospect Mike Sirota and a competitive balance pick, and after Lux played 140 games for Cincinnati last year, the Reds sent him to Tampa Bay in a three-team deal with the Los Angeles Angels this past offseason.
Ryan Pepiot is the other ex-Dodger on the outside looking in. Los Angeles drafted him in the third round in 2019, and he debuted in 2022 before making 17 appearances, including 10 starts, for the Dodgers from 2022-2023 and recording a 2.76 ERA and 1.6 bWAR.
The Dodgers traded Pepiot and DeLuca to the Rays for Glasnow ahead of the 2024 season, and Pepiot has been steady in Tampa Bay, posting a 3.75 ERA and 4.3 bWAR in 57 starts. Hip surgery kept him out for the entire 2026 season, though, so he won’t take part in the World Series.
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Dodgers Just Got A Telling Skubal Update From Andrew Friedman
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Andrew Friedman praised the way Skubal handled the transition and said the Dodgers will keep talking with agent Scott Boras, but there is still a long road ahead before anything is settled. Los Angeles wants to keep him beyond this offseason, though Friedman also made clear that Skubal and his family will ultimately have the final say on where this next chapter goes. [Read more 🡒]