After the Los Angeles Dodgers reached an agreement to acquire Mookie Betts and David Price from the Boston Red Sox as part of a three-team trade, the deal came apart because the Boston Red Sox raised issue with Brusdar Graterol once they reviewed his medical information.
The Dodgers wound up completing separate trades with the Minnesota Twins and Red Sox, adding Graterol to their haul and diverting more to Boston. Graterol remained healthy wound up becoming an integral member of the Dodgers’ bullpen en route to winning the 2020 World Series.
However, he’s yet to replicate that success this year. Graterol began this season on the 10-day injured list because of an usual offseason that impacted his Spring Training progression, and he was sidelined at the end of April due to right forearm tightness.
Despite his subpar season thus far, Graterol reportedly is the subject of trade interest leading into the 1 p.m. PT deadline on Friday, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan:
One popular name on the market right now as teams go hunting for relief pitchers, per sources: Dodgers right-hander Brusdar Graterol. ERA this year is not good, but he still throws 100-mph bowling-ball sinkers, and as Dodgers look to improve other areas, he’s a potential target.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 28, 2021
Graterol has appeared in just eight games for L.A. this season, going 1-0 with a 6.43 ERA and 1.14 WHIP.
Graterol only made three appearances before being placed on the IL with the forearm trouble. When the Dodgers activated Graterol five weeks later, he was immediately optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
“We just feel right now, where he’s at, it’s a finishing school,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained at the time.
“The arm is healthy, the ball is coming out but the slider is not as consistent as it needs to be to get Major League hitters out consistently. And the sinker is not commanded the way it needs to be.
“So I think that the option just allows for him to have a clear path to go out there and pitch regularly, get the sinker down in the zone and continue to work on that slider. When he does that, I expect to see him.”
Would Dodgers trade Graterol?
Whether or not the Dodgers would be willing to trade Graterol is unclear. While he’s yet to make much of an impact, Graterol conceivably could be a needed boon for L.A. moving forward. He’s turned in 2.1 perfect innings over his past two games.
Though, the Dodgers are anticipating the return of Corey Knebel and reportedly have some level of interest in Texas Rangers closer Ian Kennedy and Chicago Cubs closer Craig Kimbrel, which would make Graterol expendable.
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