There weren’t any surprises when the Los Angeles Dodgers officially announced their 26-man Opening Day roster, as manager Dave Roberts had previously named Zach McKinstry and Scott Alexander the final two members.
With that, the Dodgers additionally began the season without Brusdar Graterol or Joe Kelly. Like with Alexander and McKinstry, Roberts had already publicly disclosed the fate of both relief pitchers.
Per the 40-man roster page on the Dodgers’ website, Graterol opened the season on the 60-day injured list for an undisclosed reason. Meanwhile, Kelly is denoted as having been placed on the 10-day IL (retroactive to March 29) due to right shoulder inflammation.
That would suggest Graterol is not close to being ready for the season, which goes against Roberts’ prior comments. “I still don’t know or want to take a stab at a timetable,” he said Tuesday. “I think Brusdar is ahead of Joe, but what that means, I really don’t know.”
Graterol and Kelly remained at Camelback Ranch when the Dodgers broke camp last week to be part of the group keeping active at their alternate training site. Neither pitcher got into a Cactus League game this year.
Kelly immediately fell behind when the Dodgers reported for the start of Spring Training, though Roberts downplayed any level of concern. There was some progress made but Kelly failed to advance past throwing bullpen sessions.
Other than ruling out surgery, Roberts did not provide specifics behind Graterol being unable to conduct any sort of offseason throwing program. “There were just some things that I don’t think are right for me to speak to,” Roberts said early into spring.
“Some physical things, nothing orthopedically that set him back a little bit. He got married, there were some other things that just didn’t allow for him to get his proper buildup and preparation for Spring Training.”
In order to activate Graterol, the Dodgers would also need to have an open spot on their 40-man roster.
Dodgers stash starters in bullpen
With Graterol and Kelly unavailable, it allowed the Dodgers more flexibility in moving Tony Gonsolin and David Price into the bullpen. Jimmy Nelson, who started and pitched in relief during Spring Training, also is part of the eight-man bullpen.
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