Dodgers absolutely need Brusdar Graterol’s nasty bowling ball sinker in 2022

Back in 2020 when the Boston Red Sox reneged on the original framework of the Mookie Betts trade because they didn’t like Brusdar Graterol’s medicals, the Los Angeles Dodgers swiftly turned things around, took Graterol themselves, and threw another prospect to the Sox to shut them up.

The right-hander’s debut season with the Dodgers, initially, likely had the Red Sox thinking they messed up. Graterol finished with a 3.09 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 13 strikeouts in 23.1 innings of work and pitched scoreless performances in the NL Wild Card series, NLDS and World Series (he allowed three earned runs in 3.1 innings against the Braves in the NLCS). For a 21-year-old, that was pretty darn impressive.

But then came the 2021 season, which got upended for Graterol due to an offseason COVID diagnosis and then forearm tightness. He was behind coming into the season and didn’t debut until April 18. Then, after three appearances, he was shut down because of the forearm issue and didn’t return until July.

A difficult sophomore season for the right-hander ended with a 4.59 ERA and 1.41 WHIP in 34 games. He struck out just 27 batters in 33.1 innings, though that was a bit of an improvement from his K numbers in 2020 … but his 13 walks were surely a problem. And they likely resulted in his three options to Triple-A.

That’s why the Dodgers really need this bowling ball sinker to be alive and well throughout 2022.

The Dodgers need Brusdar Graterol’s nasty sinker for all of 2022.

Another promising development? The underlying metrics favored Graterol in 2021 despite poor on-the-surface stats. If he can hone his control, he’s going to be that much more lethal because he’s difficult to hit when he’s pounding the strike zone.

When he’s effortlessly hitting triple digits, he’ll bring an unforeseen element to the Dodgers bullpen, which is now seemingly complete following the Craig Kimbrel acquisition. Graterol won’t be one of the marquee high-leverage arms — that role will be saved for Kimbrel, Blake Treinen and Daniel Hudson — but if he can bridge the gap with his arsenal, the Dodgers can alleviate the pressure on the rotation and the back end of the bullpen.

Not to mention, he’ll make it that much more difficult for opposing hitters to produce any sort of run production. He introduced a cutter — Kenley-esque! — late last season to add to his sinker and slider while ditching his changeup. That’s a more well-versed arsenal.

One problem is his odometer, however. He has just 66.1 career innings under his belt and was severely limited last year due to the multitude of aforementioned factors. While it’s unclear how much he’ll be able to contribute for a full season, it’s a great sign he’s already logged five innings during spring training, allowing just one hit and zero walks while striking out three.

Trending in a much better direction than last year? Check. Enough arms ahead of him so he’s not a focal point of the bullpen? Check. Now all that’s left is watching the performance match up with the advanced analytics and the Dodgers could have quite the bullpen asset on their hands.

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