The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind for the Los Angeles Dodgers as in addition to reporting to Camelback Ranch for Spring Training and dealing with the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, they also completed a blockbuster trade with the Boston Red Sox to acquire Mookie Betts and David Price.
After reports that the trade was agreed upon initially surfaced, it took five more days for it to become official as the Red Sox found issues with the medicals of former Minnesota Twins prospect Brusdar Graterol, who was supposed to head to Boston as a part of the three-team trade.
The Dodgers wound up resolving the issue by sending two more prospects in Jeter Downs and Connor Wong, along with Alex Verdugo, to the Red Sox, while also completing a second trade with the Twins to acquire Graterol for themselves.
At just 21 years of age, Graterol projects as a potential future closer for the Dodgers with a fastball that consistently reaches triple digits in addition to a wipeout slider.
He has already undergone Tommy John surgery and dealt with shoulder issues, which is why the Red Sox had some pause about acquiring him. Graterol is healthy now though and expected to make a big impact for the Dodgers in 2020 and beyond.
While the Red Sox revealing Graterol’s poor medicals is something that is typically frowned upon, he spoke for the first time as a member of the Dodgers at Camelback Ranch and admitted that his focus was not on the issues concerning the blockbuster trade and maintained he’s healthy, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“I didn’t really pay attention to that,” Graterol said. “I know my body and I know I’m ready to go out there. I put in a lot of work and feel really good.”
It is good to see that Graterol is healthy and ready to contribute for the Dodgers right away. The backend of L.A.’s bullpen has been a weakness the last couple of seasons with Kenley Jansen seemingly on the decline, so adding another young, hard-throwing right-hander to that mix should make for a nice addition.
Considering he is just 21, the Dodgers likely will not rush Graterol into anything if he is not ready. He made 10 big league appearances for the Twins last season, yielding a 4.66 ERA, 3.42 FIP and 1.24 WHIP with 10 strikeouts and two walks in 9.2 innings.
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