Dodgers: Brusdar Graterol’s IL stint due to COVID-19 rehab

The Los Angeles Dodgers will be without both Brusdar Graterol and Joe Kelly in the season’s early going, though we don’t think they’ll miss them terribly considering all the excess bullpen depth they’ve built up.

Graterol’s timeline remains ahead of Kelly’s, per Dave Roberts, though we didn’t have any real clarity on the reasoning behind his “late start” until Saturday.

Upon second thought, it’s what we probably would’ve expected.

The flame-throwing righty was sidelined at some point this offseason by a battle with COVID-19, which then threw off his timeline for preparation, per beat writer Jorge Castillo.

The extent of the symptoms or details about any potential complications Graterol suffered remain unknown.

Regardless, his post-World Series clock got significantly altered by the bout, and he’s still working his way back to normalcy.

When will Dodgers reliever Brusdar Graterol return?

We’re not exactly certain, of course, though we know he’s been at least throwing for quite a while.

Graterol took the mound plenty during spring training, but only on side fields and in secluded bullpen sessions; he didn’t experience any game action.

The first look at Graterol we got this offseason came just as pitchers and catchers were reporting to camp, and seeing as the righty didn’t have an unexplained absence during either February or March, one can also assume this workout was filmed following the COVID-19 diagnosis resolving itself.

https://twitter.com/LosDodgers/status/1361799790095433734?s=20

Last October, Graterol’s 100+ MPH fastball was the postseason’s breakout star — and the pitcher’s personality shone, too, when he blew a kiss in Manny Machado’s general direction to ratchet up the Dodgers-Padres rivalry a year ahead of schedule.

Bizarrely, the strikeout numbers have yet to materialize for someone who throws so hard; Graterol whiffed just 13 in 23.1 regular season innings, followed by four in 7.2 in the postseason.

Whenever he does return, it appears he’ll have a rejuvenated Corey Knebel to learn from, as well as the Dodgers’ vaunted back-end trio of Kenley Jansen, Blake Treinen and Victor González.

Oh, and David Price and Tony Gonsolin are back there, too? Take your time, sir. We’ll welcome you when you’re ready.

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