Brusdar Graterol’s ongoing struggle with injuries has hit another roadblock. On Sunday, news emerged that the Dodgers’ reliever underwent surgery for a fresh back injury sustained during a minor-league rehab assignment earlier this month. This latest development adds another layer of uncertainty to Graterol’s future this season, potentially signaling a lengthy recovery period ahead.
The confirmation of the surgery came from a source close to The California Post, following Graterol’s own announcement on Instagram, where he shared details of the operation.
Despite this setback, Graterol remains resilient. “I fell again, but I won’t stay down here,” he expressed in his Instagram post. “I will rise. My goal isn’t over — it’s just beginning.”
Graterol’s journey back to the mound began earlier this May. He embarked on a rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City, striving to come back from a shoulder surgery that had already kept him off the field for the previous season and the start of this one.
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.