Graterol has Grade 3 hamstring strain, likely done for season

LOS ANGELES -- Brusdar Graterol couldn’t contain his excitement. After missing 113 games with a right shoulder injury, Graterol was jumping up and down pregame now that he was finally back on the active roster and in the Dodgers’ bullpen.

In his mind, his days of rehab in Arizona were over and now he was ready to help the Dodgers down the stretch and into the postseason.

Unfortunately for Graterol, his return to the mound ended after just eight pitches as he was helped off the field by trainer Thomas Albert and third baseman Kiké Hernández in the top of the sixth inning of the Dodgers’ 6-2 loss to the Phillies on Tuesday night.

The Dodgers announced it was a right hamstring strain for Graterol, who left the field in tears. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts later added that it’s a Grade 3 strain, which is the most severe. Given how late into the season the Dodgers are, that will likely end Graterol’s 2024 campaign.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Roberts said. “Brusdar, he’s been so good for us. He’s done a lot of things for us. He’s pitched in a lot of big ballgames for us, postseason games, and he had a tough road back. He spent a lot of time in Arizona and being in rehab and to come back and, third hitter he faced, to blow out, and it was a pretty big blowout.”

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Graterol’s outing started well, as he got Bryce Harper to pop out to third base on the third pitch he threw. Then, after giving up a one-out single to Alec Bohm, Graterol was battling against J.T. Realmuto when he sailed a 92 mph sinker that was way up in the zone.

As soon as Graterol released the pitch, he hunched over in front of the mound in clear discomfort. He communicated immediately to Hernández that the injury was severe. Shortly thereafter, Graterol began to tear up as he needed assistance to get down the dugout steps on the way to the home clubhouse.

“There’s a lot of stuff that goes into coming back and getting on this field and unless you’ve done it, you don’t really know,” said Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who allowed one run over 4 2/3 innings. “So we all feel for him. He loves to pitch, he loves to be out there, he loves to be with us. So if this is a season-ender, it’s really hard obviously, but good thing for him is he’s really young, he’s got a really good arm and he’ll be able to bounce back good next year. But it’s definitely a tough night.”

Losing Graterol, who was seen on crutches in the clubhouse after the game, is another significant blow to the Dodgers’ bullpen, which is currently without Blake Treinen and Ryan Brasier.

Over the last four seasons, Graterol has been an integral part of the team’s relief corps, particularly in 2023, when the flamethrowing right-hander established himself as one of the best relievers on the team with a 1.20 ERA over 68 appearances.

Graterol is even more valuable in the postseason, as his high-powered stuff is exactly what teams look for in October. When the Dodgers slow played him after Spring Training as he worked back from a right shoulder injury, they envisioned having him in the back end of their bullpen down the stretch. Now, that doesn’t appear to be the case.

Instead, the Dodgers will activate Michael Grove before Wednesday’s game and continue to mix and match with the rest of the bullpen. But there’s no denying the impact of not having Graterol available the rest of the way will have on the Dodgers.

“Right now, he’s so emotional,” Roberts said. “And as a player, when something like that happens, you know what it entails. And it’s not good.”