Brusdar Graterol’s year-and-a-half-long injury saga took another disappointing turn Sunday.
The Dodgers reliever underwent surgery for a recent back injury he suffered while on a minor-league rehab assignment earlier this month, a source confirmed to The California Post after Graterol posted about the operation on Instagram.
It leaves Graterol’s status for the rest of the season uncertain, ahead of what could be another long-term recovery process.
“I fell again, but I won’t stay down here,” Graterol wrote on Instagram. “I will rise. My goal isn’t over — it’s just beginning.”
At the start of May, Graterol went out on a rehab stint with Triple-A Oklahoma City, trying to return from a shoulder surgery that sidelined him for all of last year and the start of this one.
After his fourth outing on May 12, however, he was pulled off the assignment after his back “flared up” on him, as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced at the time.
Graterol was transferred to the 60-day injured list a week later.
General manager Brandon Gomes said then that surgery was an option for the 27-year-old right-hander, but that the club wanted “to exhaust all options” first.
“He’s worked really hard [to try and come back],” Gomes said.
Now, he’ll have to start all over again.
While Graterol’s status for the rest of this season wasn’t immediately clear, it’s likely that his operation will come with a long-term timeline to return.
Roberts had hinted at a prolonged absence for the flamethrower earlier this month, saying that “it’s gonna be a slow program for a while for him, unfortunately.”
Graterol, who has a 2.78 career ERA over six MLB seasons, last pitched in the majors during the 2024 postseason, as part of a bullpen that carried the Dodgers to the first of their current back-to-back World Series championships.
After that, he underwent surgery on his labrum in November, initially ruling him out for the first half of the 2025 season. When his shoulder didn’t recover as quickly as hoped, he ended up missing all of the Dodgers’ title-defense campaign on the injured list.
Graterol was slow-played again this spring, after struggling to regain his upper-90s mph velocity in a throwing program during camp. He opened the season back on the IL but said at the end of spring training that he was confident in making his return this year.
He seemed on track for that up until his May 12 outing, when his fastball velocity dipped back under 95 mph amid his back issue.
Now, suddenly he’s essentially back to square one all over again. Facing another surgical recovery. Another elongated rehab. And, quite possibly, another season spent entirely on the shelf.
