Dodgers right-hander Brusdar Graterol announced today (Spanish-language X post) that he underwent shoulder surgery yesterday, though without a return timeline. The club later announced that Graterol underwent right shoulder labrum surgery and isn’t expected back on the mound until the second half of the 2025 season.
The news doesn’t come as a shock, as Graterol trudged through an injury-marred 2024 season, primarily due to that shoulder. He went on the injured list at the beginning of the season with a combination of hip tightness and right shoulder inflammation. The shoulder issue was significant enough that he wasn’t able to return until August. In his very first game of the season, he suffered a right hamstring strain that sent him back to the IL. He was activated in September but then went back on the IL yet again with more shoulder inflammation. He missed most of the postseason but was activated for the World Series.
The righty finished the year with less than 10 innings pitched. He tossed 7 1/3 frames in the regular season and then added another 2 1/3 in the World Series. Though he fought through the issue enough to get on the mound a few times, he was never able to stay healthy for long and it’s now clear the issue required surgical attention.
Prior to 2024, Graterol had established himself as a key piece of the Dodger bullpen. He posted a 2.69 earned run average over 171 appearances from 2020 to 2023. His 18.9% strikeout rate in that time was below average but his 5.5% walk rate was quite low and he got grounders at an elite rate of 62.5%. Among pitchers with at least 170 innings pitched in that time, only Clay Holmes, Andre Pallante and Framber Valdez has better grounder rates.
Though he was able to contribute to the World Series victory and get himself a ring, 2024 was mostly a lost season for Graterol and he will now miss at least half of 2025 as well. He still has two arbitration seasons left but the injuries will prevent him from significantly raising his salary. He made $2.7MM this year and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for the same figure in 2025. His ability to push that farther north in 2026 will depend on how much time he ultimately misses in the coming season and how he performs when healthy.
For the Dodgers, it’s possible that this surgery increases their desire to add to their pitching staff. They are already expected to start 2025 with Kyle Hurt, River Ryan, Emmet Sheehan and Gavin Stone on the injured list due to surgeries performed earlier in 2024 and now Graterol’s name can be added to that list. They just lost Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, Joe Kelly, Blake Treinen and Daniel Hudson to free agency. Kershaw will almost certainly re-sign but also just underwent surgery, while Hudson certainly won’t re-sign since he’s now retired.
This guy is even more overrated than Joe Kelly; throws full throttle every time without learning to use his body, and inevitably suffers the consequences.
Give another rookie the chance to soak up Graterol’s 40 IPs every year.
I’ll agree with you on Kelly but Graterol has been excellent when he pitches.
Strange. He’s overrated because of a shoulder injury? Your theory about why he is injured is just silly.
It’s a trap! He said that to kill our brain cells.
Doh!
What discourse is there over Graterol’s rating exactly? He is a solid pitcher when healthy but people don’t really claim he is a top guy. He has been a solid contributor to the Dodgers and very worth taking him on and giving Boston Jeter Downs instead
That post he made in Spanish, it may be shoulder surgery, which is always tricky to come back from, but the dude has some moxie in him. If his words were anything to go by, he’s coming back strong from this next season.
there was a time when i thought brusdar was gonna be LAD superstar closer of the future. but this guy just cant stay healthy ! he missed all of 2024, will miss most of 2025, and is a FA after 2026
I’m sure you weren’t the only one in that boat. I myself was in that same boat about two years ago sadly.
A Dodger pitcher having health issues. What a surprise.
Doesn’t matter. The Dodgers can afford to pay a full complement of pitchers on the IL and on the main roster.
Dodgers had an entire rotation worth of pitchers on the IL, and still got a championship. Money compensates all the injuries!
This is why the Red Sox didn’t want him…… still would’ve been their biggest piece of the Betts trade.
Dodgers aren’t in on Soto because they need to spend more money on pitching?
D’oh! Yet another injury-plagued season.
Say what you will but Graterol has pitched in every postseason for the Dodgers from 2020-2024, and helped win the World Series in 2020 and 2024, has two rings for those efforts.
While his availability for regular season has been limited, he’s a fairly cost controlled reliever with good upside left plus love his enthusiasm and energy. Only downside is he pitches mostly to contact although his ground ball ratio at >60% is very good.
Hoping he’s able to get relief and improvement post surgery and gets healthy enough to come back and contribute down the stretch. Go Dodgers!
I wonder if he becomes a DFA, then re-sign on a 2-year contract (or even just a straight up DFA if there’s little confidence in his future). I know the Dodgers have more money than God, but paying someone like him $2.7M is a bigger hit when considering all the luxury taxes. Small potatoes, but still things the team has to consider.
Seems like a fairly easy non-tender.
LAD can bring him back on a minor league offer if they want.