Brusdar Graterol threw just eight pitches in his 2024 debut on Tuesday night before needing to come out of the game with what Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the team believed was a Grade 3 hamstring strain.
Such an injury entails a complete tear of the muscle and requires a recovery period that can require up to six months. By all accounts, Graterol’s new injury was expected to keep him out for the rest of the season.
Graterol was visibly emotional on the mound when talking with Roberts and Dodgers head athletic trainer Thomas Albert, and he needed assistance getting off the field, down the dugout steps and into the clubhouse.
Graterol was on crutches in the Dodgers clubhouse after the game, and received hugs and well-wishes from teammates as they filtered out following a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.
“It’s super sad. There’s a lot of stuff that goes into coming back and getting on this field. Unless you’ve done it, you don’t really know. We all feel for him,” Clayton Kershaw said.
“He loves to pitch, loves to be out there, loves to be with us. It’s sad. If this is a season-ender, that’s really hard obviously. Good thing for him is he’s young, he’s got a really good arm, he’ll be able to bounce back and be really good next year. But it’s definitely a tough night.”
On Wednesday, the Dodgers put Graterol on the 15-day injured list and activated Michael Grove.
Brusdar Graterol’s hamstring injury
Although the Dodgers again are without Graterol because of injury, the severity of his hamstring strain leaves open the possibility of pitching again in 2024.
“We got good news on the MRI front. It was a Grade 1 hamstring (strain), so that’s really good. Obviously, we’re going to go through the process of resting it and rehabbing it, and we’re just going to go (based) on him,” Roberts said before the series finale against the Phillies.
“See how we can build him back up. Hopeful he’ll return at some point in time this year.”
Considering how upset Graterol appeared at the time of his hamstring injury, Roberts believes the MRI results should help shift some of those feelings.
“I think early on, you could see with his emotion, that he probably felt it was going to be the season for him,” Roberts said.
“But with what we’ve gathered, the information, I think there’s a sense of relief and optimism.”
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
