Dodgers Star Reliever Likely Out for Rest of Season in Brutal Update

Dodgers pitcher Brusdar Graterol (48) celebrates with teammates on the bus during the 2024 World Series championship parade near Los Angeles City Hall on Nov. 1, 2024. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Brusdar Graterol's last appearance on a mound in a Dodgers uniform was in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series. He faced five batters and walked three in the sixth inning of the decisive game against the New York Yankees.

All's well that ends well — usually. The Dodgers won that game, and the World Series, and Graterol got his ring.

Unfortunately, Graterol's 2025 season appears to be over before it could even begin.

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Graterol underwent surgery after the World Series to repair the labrum in his right shoulder. It's a major procedure with a long timetable for recovery, and Graterol was not expected to pitch this year before the All-Star break. Unsurprisingly, the Dodgers placed Graterol on the injured list in March.

Although Graterol had reported to the Dodgers' Camelback Ranch complex in Arizona to begin his rehab, manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday the pitcher has not been cleared to begin a throwing program.

Now, Roberts said, it appears unlikely Graterol will have enough time to pitch in 2025.

"I think there's a small, small chance" he returns sometime in September, Roberts told reporters Wednesday in Anaheim. "It is possible he doesn't come back."

The Dodgers' pessimism didn't stem from a new development in Graterol's rehab, Roberts said.

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"If Brusdar comes back, he's done it many times over, where he doesn't need to go through the whole process," Roberts said. "He knows how to pitch in big games. If he's upright and throwing the baseball well, he's an easy guy to bet on."

Graterol, 30, is 11-9 with a 2.69 ERA in 178 regular season games for the Dodgers from 2020-24. Last year, shoulder injuries limited him to seven regular season games. But he was able to return to pitch scoreless innings in Games 1 and 3 of the World Series before his appearance in Game 5.

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the plan is to continue to ramp up Graterol's rehabilitation process in hopes he can return this year.

Time is not on Graterol's side, even if there's an open seat for him in the bullpen. Dodgers relievers have a 4.22 ERA this season, 20th in MLB. No team has logged as many innings out of the bullpen (516.2), though some of that total was by design when a relief pitcher served as an "opener."

For a unit short on high-leverage experience late in big games, Graterol's return would be a welcome sight. Unfortunately that might have to wait until 2026.

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