Brusdar Graterol was activated onto the Los Angeles Dodgers roster for the first time this season on Monday after he had been dealing with shoulder inflammation since Spring Training.
The following day, Graterol entered the game for his 2024 debut, but his season likely came to an end after just eight pitches thrown.
On his final pitch, Graterol immediately grabbed at his right hamstring and looked to be in immense pain. He was emotional talking with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, head athletic trainer Thomas Albert and Kiké Hernández before being removed from the game.
Graterol needed both Albert and Hernández to support him as he limped off the field and through the dugout.
The Dodgers announced Graterol suffered a hamstring strain, and after the game, Roberts revealed it was a Grade 3 strain, which is a complete tear of the muscle.
“It’s heartbreaking. Brusdar has been so good for us,” Roberts said. “He’s done a lot of good things. He’s pitched in a lot of big ball games for us, postseason games, and he had a tough road back.
“He spent a lot of time in Arizona and being on rehab, and then to come back, the third hitter he faced, to blowout, and it was a pretty good blowout. From what I understand, it was Grade 3 hamstring, and so that’s a long road back. So I feel terrible for him and for his teammates.”
The recovery time for a Grade 3 tear is generally around three to six months, and may require surgery, so the injury will all but certainly end Graterol’s season.
“I’ll follow up with him tomorrow, but I think right now he’s just so emotional,” Roberts said after the loss. “And as a player, when something like that happens, you know kind of what it entails, and it’s not good.”
The injury diagnosis did not come as a surprise to Graterol, who “knew” the prognosis would not be encouraging immediately after he suffered the tear, according to Roberts.
Clayton Kershaw, who also missed most of the season after undergoing offseason surgery, shared his disappointment to see Graterol suffer the injury.
“It’s super sad. There’s a lot of stuff that goes into coming back and getting on this field,” Kershaw said. “Unless you’ve done it, you don’t really know. We all feel for him.
“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.”
Michael Grove replacing Brusdar Graterol
Roberts added the Dodgers will be activating Michael Grove from the 15-day injured list to replace Graterol on the roster.
Grove completed his rehab assignment and was with the club in Los Angeles waiting to be activated. He was placed on the IL on June 16 due to a right intercostal strain.
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!
