The Los Angeles Dodgers have dealt with a lot of injuries to their starting pitchers and relievers this season.
The Dodgers lost two of their best relievers before the regular season even began when Blake Treinen and Brusdar Graterol both suffered injures in Spring Training. The loss of Graterol for an unknown amount of time was especially painful as he was coming off a career year in 2023 and the Dodgers were counting on more of the same this year.
The bullpen struggled mightily as the season began and it seemed as if the loss of key members of the bullpen was going to cause trouble for the team until they returned. However, slowly but surely, the ragtag group of arms the Dodgers shuffled through began to turn it around and things have since got even better after Treinen returned.
The Dodgers bullpen currently has the third best ERA in the Majors and are the strongest they have ever been this season after Evan Phillips was activated from the injured list.
Graterol is one of the final big missing piece of the puzzle, but he shouldn’t be expected back anytime soon after the most recent news surrounding his rehab.
“Brusdar is not even playing catch right now. So in the context of Spring Training, if you’re not even playing catch, you’re at least a couple months away,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
Lately, news surrounding Graterol’s rehab has been sparse and when there is news it has not been promising, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that his timetable has been pushed back significantly.
Despite the success of the bullpen, it would be prudent for the Dodgers to explore adding a bullpen arm before the trade deadline passes later on in the season. The team still believes, at least publicly, that Graterol can return this season but adding another back-end bullpen piece as insurance seems like a smart play depending on who could become available at the deadline.
Dodgers injuries
With the recent return of Evan Phillips, the Dodgers bullpen is the strongest it has ever been this season. Blake Treinen has been everything the Dodgers could have hoped for and more since he made his season debut back in May. Alex Vesia has also been excellent in his return to form after a poor 2023 season.
However, the Dodgers bullpen is still not 100% healthy with Ryan Brasier and Joe Kelly still weeks away from making their return.
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