Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Kyle Hurt will officially work from the bullpen in 2026.
As reported by Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, who cited manager Dave Roberts, Hurt “is seen as a bullpen option.”
Hurt is coming off Tommy John surgery in 2024, but in limited appearances in 2023 and ’24, he was effective on the mound.
In 8.2 innings of work, he had an ERA of 1.04 and a WHIP of 1.038 with six strikeouts.
Given that experience, Hurt expected to be a reliever, as he told Dodgers Nation’s Doug McKain.
“I’ll definitely be a reliever, but whatever they ask, I’m just excited to be a part of it,” he told McKain.
What is Kyle Hurt’s Outlook for 2026?
As he recovers from surgery, Hurt expressed optimism that he could come back stronger than before, something like the improvement Shohei Ohtani has shown on the mound.
“I would think so. You do so much little strength exercises for your arm that you didn’t really do pre-surgery,” Hurt explained. “So, getting to know how your elbow feels every day and just doing those little exercises constantly, day by day, I think that just makes that velo spike a little bit because your arms are just so conditioned after doing rehab for such a long period process that you feel really good, so that’s kind of how I felt.”
Hurt Learning From Teammates at Spring Training
As Hurt gears up for the season, he’s been observing his teammates like Cy Young winner Blake Snell and World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
“It’s just super exciting to be in this locker room, like just watching Yoshi do everything he does on a day-to-day basis and like how Blake Snell goes about it,” he explained. “Everyone just kind of does it their own way and we just feed off each other. A lot of these young guys are definitely, including myself, we still see what these guys do, but it’s just exciting just watching the day-by-day routine. That’s one big thing for me.”
What do you think? Will Kyle Hurt contribute to the Dodgers in his bullpen role?