Brusdar Graterol injury makes Dodgers bullpen reinforcements more important than ever

We’d say the Los Angeles Dodgers can’t catch a break … but they’re the best team in MLB, so, yeah, it’s hard. But fans have to admit it’s frustrating that every time the team receives good news, it’s slapped across the face with a dose of bad news.

First came the return of Dustin May, which was exciting. Help for the rotation! Need it! Then Walker Buehler, who was supposed to return in September, needed Tommy John surgery. Done until 2024.

But wait! Then Clayton Kershaw was nearing a return, too. Perfect. Shouldn’t miss a beat. Uh, but then Tony Gonsolin hit the IL with a forearm strain and is done for the next two weeks (at least). You’ve gotta be kidding.

And finally, fans have been looking forward to Blake Treinen’s definite return on Sept. 2. The bullpen really needs some stability with the incoming reinforcements. But before he could even return, Brusdar Graterol went down with elbow inflammation on Thursday.

Is this a sick joke? This now makes the return of Treinen as well as (potentially) Tommy Kahnle and Victor Gonzalez even more paramount. You’d have to imagine Graterol is done for quite some time.

Brusdar Graterol going down for the Dodgers is a killer for the bullpen

Sadly, Graterol can’t be viewed as a constant for LA. Though he looks like a major asset when his bowling ball sinker is activated and his secondary offerings (cutter, slider) are throwing hitters off balance, he’s struggled with injuries ever since being acquired back in 2020.

In 2022 alone, Graterol missed six weeks with a shoulder issue, and we can expect another long layoff with his elbow.

His 3.02 ERA, 3.12 FIP, 0.94 WHIP and 39 strikeouts in 44.2 innings have been crucial in helping bridge the gap to the ninth, which now yet again remains in a bit of flux. Treinen stepping in will be a plus, but he’ll need time to get back up to speed since he hasn’t appeared in a game since mid-April. Same goes for Kahnle and Gonzalez, both of whom are at Triple-A. Kahnle’s hardly pitched since the start of 2020 and Gonzalez hasn’t seen an inning in 2022.

Throw in the fact Danny Duffy won’t be contributing to the big-league club, Dellin Betances couldn’t make it out of Triple-A, Hansel Robles is still struggling to catch on at Triple-A, Justin Bruihl has taken a big step back, and many other issues, and the need for quality innings from those aforementioned guys on the mend could make or break this team’s ability to power through October.

It’s all nice right now, but we saw what happened with an exhausted/undermanned pitching staff last postseason. Don’t want to watch everything fall apart in that manner again.

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