Dodgers Release Former Top International Prospect After Tommy John Surgery Ends His 2025 Season

Dodgers Cut Kinn Omosako After Tommy John Surgery Costs Him Full Season

The Los Angeles Dodgers released Kinn Omosako on Monday, ending the 21-year-old Brazilian pitcher's four-year run in the organization. Tommy John surgery wiped out his entire 2025 season. He never threw a pitch for the Dodgers this year.

Omosako last appeared in a game during a 16-game stint with the Arizona Complex League Dodgers in 2024 — a stint that looked like a breakthrough. An elbow injury ended that momentum. The surgery and subsequent rehab consumed the following 12-plus months, and the Dodgers moved on before he could return to a mound.

What Did Kinn Omosako's Numbers Look Like Across Four Seasons?

Over parts of four seasons from 2021 to 2024, Omosako went 5-3 with a 4.10 ERA across 59 games, including six starts. He threw 85.2 innings, allowed 75 hits, walked 50 batters, and struck out 79. The walk rate was a persistent concern. The strikeout numbers were not.

His best stretch came early. In the 2022 Dominican Summer League, Omosako allowed just one earned run in 14.2 innings — a 0.61 ERA that put the organization on notice. He returned to the DSL in 2023 and struck out 30 batters in 30.1 innings, but walked 16 and posted a 5.04 ERA across 18 games. Command remained the variable.

The 2024 ACL season was his clearest sign of progress. Omosako posted a 2.33 ERA with 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings and did not allow an earned run in June. At 6-foot-4 with a right-handed arm and improving stuff, the profile was worth developing. Then the elbow gave out.

How Did Omosako Reach the Dodgers and Progress Through Their System?

Omosako was a late signing in the 2020 international amateur class, officially joining the Dodgers in March 2021. He was never ranked — not internationally, not within Los Angeles's system. The Dodgers signed him without the prospect hype that typically surrounds international additions.

He is a native of São Paulo, Brazil, part of a family that collectively turned away from soccer and toward baseball. His older brother, outfielder Gunn Omosako, spent parts of three seasons in the Seattle Mariners organization before topping out in the ACL. His younger brother, Sann Omosako, 20, is currently pitching in the Toronto Blue Jays' system after posting a 3.08 ERA in the Florida Complex League last season.

Kinn's promotion from the Dominican Summer League to the ACL ahead of the 2024 season was a meaningful organizational signal. For a foreign-born, unranked prospect, that move reflects genuine internal confidence. The Dodgers don't promote players on sentiment. He earned it.

Why Do MLB Teams Release Injured Minor Leaguers Instead of Waiting?

The business logic here is straightforward. MLB organizations are capped at 165 players on their domestic minor league reserve lists during the season. That number drops from 180 in prior years and forces front offices to make cuts that would otherwise be avoidable.

Players on the 60-day injured list do not count against the 165-player limit — but that protection only goes so far. When a player is not considered a strong candidate to reach the major leagues, carrying his roster spot through a full Tommy John recovery means blocking a player who might actually get there. The math works against unranked prospects.

The Dodgers' farm system is stocked. River Ryan, Jackson Ferris, Christian Zazueta, and Adam Serwinowski are among the arms competing for organizational depth and eventual big-league consideration. Omosako, despite his 2024 progress, was not in that conversation. The 165-player ceiling made the decision easier to execute.

This is not unique to Omosako or the Dodgers. Across MLB, Tommy John surgery routinely ends minor league tenures for players outside the top prospect tier. The surgery itself carries an 80-97% return-to-play rate. The roster math, however, doesn't wait for recoveries.

What Comes Next for Kinn Omosako?

Omosako was on track to become the sixth Brazilian-born player in MLB history and the fifth from São Paulo — following a short list that includes catcher Yan Gomes, pitcher André Rienzo, outfielder Paulo Orlando, and pitchers Thyago Vieira and Luiz Gohara. That path no longer runs through Los Angeles.

Tommy John surgery typically allows pitchers to return to full activity between 12 and 18 months post-procedure. If Omosako's elbow heals on schedule, he could be available to sign with another organization before the 2026 season ends or ahead of 2027. At 21, the age is not a disqualifier. The arm, once healthy, still carries the profile that got him to the ACL.

His younger brother Sann is still active in the Blue Jays system. The Omosako family's presence in professional baseball isn't over. For Kinn, the next chapter depends on one thing: whether the elbow holds.

The Dodgers moved on. Another team may not need much convincing.