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Dodgers learned the recurring Brusdar Graterol lesson in hardest way imaginable

The jig is up.
Oct 30, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Brusdar Graterol (48) pitches during the sixth inning against the New York Yankees in game four of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Oct 30, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Brusdar Graterol (48) pitches during the sixth inning against the New York Yankees in game four of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Dodgers avoided arbitration with Brusdar Graterol during the offseason, agreeing to a one-year deal worth $2.8 million. Surprising, considering Graterol missed the entire 2025 season and has less than eight innings pitched for the Dodgers since the start of the 2024 season. The obvious call was to non-tender Graterol, and the Dodgers might be coming to that realization now.

Graterol started a minor-league rehab assignment at the start of May, but things took a turn over the weekend. The 27-year-old experienced a back flare-up during his outing on May 12. The Dodgers expect Graterol to miss a considerable amount of time after this latest setback, and The Athletic's Katie Woo reports that surgery is being considered.

At this point, it's hard to envision a scenario where Graterol is pitching again for the Dodgers by the end of the season.

Since being acquired by the Dodgers ahead of the 2020 season, Graterol has had an increasing level of importance in LA's bullpen. In 2023, he fully emerged as a high-leverage option for Dave Roberts, posting a 1.20 ERA in 68 appearances.

Brusdar Graterol's latest setback should be his last with the Dodgers

Considering the Dodgers are never really short of money, it makes sense why they've kept Graterol for as long as they have. If he were ever to get healthy, the hope was that he could turn back into the guy he was for the Dodgers in 2023. Will be three years removed from that reality at the end of the season, and it feels like the experiment needs to be over.

As seamless as the Dodgers decided to hand out a one-year deal to Graterol last offseason, they won't even have to make that decision this winter. Graterol is set to become a free agent, and no, there isn't any circumstance where Andrew Friedman and Co. should consider him an option for the bullpen in 2027.

That doesn't mean a reunion with the Dodgers won't happen. Assuming Graterol is recovering from surgery, it would make sense for LA to keep him around on a minor-league deal. The only difference is that there wouldn't be any real expectation for him to occupy a slot in the bullpen next season.

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