The Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen finished the 2024 regular season as the fifth-best group in baseball. But that was not the case in the early stages of the year as they struggled out of the gate and were shorthanded at the outset with Brusdar Graterol and Blake Treinen on the injured list.
There was also the matter of adjusting to being an unofficial sixth member of the rotation and extra workload that came with semi-regular bullpen games. They were tasked with such a challenge due to to the Dodgers easing Yoshinobu Yamamoto into a MLB rotation this season.
It was a baptism by fire for the Dodgers bullpen, but they came out the other side battle-hardened and with a new identity as the season progressed. It started with a casual comment from Alex Vesia, but the movement took shape thanks to Graterol.
It soon snowballed to a point where these days it’s more appropriate to label them as a dawg pound rather than relief pitchers.
“A couple months ago, there was a quote that I said the bullpen is a bunch of dogs. That wasn’t super crazy, but then Brusdar Graterol, when we were in the bullpen, I don’t remember exactly who ran out, but he started barking,” Vesia revealed.
“We looked at him like, what the heck? And then the next guy came out, and a couple other people barked. That was just kind of how it started and we embraced that. So I’m going to give a lot of the credit to Bazooka. He definitely started that and would text us in our group chat and stuff about how we’re a bunch of dogs.
“He definitely pushed that more and more.”
As a unit the Dodgers’ relievers have reinforced that idea with their performance in October. Despite having a first-round bye, the Dodgers’ bullpen leads all playoff teams in innings pitched, largely due to three bullpen games through the first two series.
They got the job done once again in Game 1 of the World Series, supplementing Jack Flaherty’s start with 4.2 of their own to give Freddie Freeman an opportunity to hit a walk-off grand slam.
There was some trouble in Game 2, but that also ended with a win, and the Dodgers bullpen backed Walker Buehler on Monday night as well.
Brusdar Graterol big boost to Dodgers bullpen
The Dodgers’ roster for the World Series does not include Evan Phillips because of a right shoulder issue, but Graterol returning from his own injury has helped offset that loss. Vesia returning from an intercostal injury has also been key for the team.
Prior to the World Series, Graterol had not appeared in a postseason game this year.
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