Graterol's Back Surgery Seals Dodgers' Bullpen Pivot—and Why Their Depth Still Holds

Brusdar Graterol underwent back surgery on May 31, 2026, and is expected to miss the remainder of the season, per Jack Harris of the California Post. The Dodgers' right-handed reliever has become a casualty of cascading injuries—his fourth significant procedure in two years after shoulder surgery last November and a missed 2025 season entirely. He hasn't appeared in a major league game since the 2024 playoffs, making this setback less a shock than a confirmation of a deteriorating narrative that began long before the back flare-up.

Graterol's injury history masks an almost cruel talent gap. When healthy, he is one of the sport's most devastating relievers. His 2023 season—67⅓ innings at a 1.20 ERA with a 64.4% ground-ball rate—remains the gold standard of his Dodgers tenure. He carries a 2.69 career ERA in 180 innings with Los Angeles. The problem has never been ceiling; it's been availability. Since his late-season debut with Minnesota in 2019, Graterol has pitched only 190⅔ innings across six seasons. Seven regular-season frames in 2024 illustrate the pattern. He began a rehab assignment in early May this year before a setback—now requiring surgery—derailed what was supposed to be his return to action.

For the Dodgers, the timing compounds an already depleted bullpen rotation. Edwin Diaz is on the 60-day IL after elbow surgery. Evan Phillips remains a year removed from Tommy John surgery and months from availability. Brock Stewart has managed two innings due to shoulder and foot issues. Ben Casparius hasn't pitched since mid-April shoulder inflammation sidelined him. By any conventional measure, the Dodgers should be hemorrhaging runs in relief. Instead, their bullpen ranks fourth in ERA (3.12), first in FIP (3.15), and second in strikeout rate (25.6%) among all teams. Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, Will Klein, Jack Dreyer, Kyle Hurt, Edgardo Henriquez, and Blake Treinen—the top seven arms by innings—all carry sub-3.43 ERAs. The depth is real, and it's working.

Graterol's absence will not alter the Dodgers' bullpen construction materially because his unavailability has been priced in for months. The franchise has already built this season around a relief corps anchored by proven performers and depth arms, not around the hope of salvaging an injury-ravaged star. This is where the betting angle emerges: the market may still be discounting Los Angeles's win total or run-line prices on the assumption that Graterol represents missing capacity. He does not. The Dodgers ranked among baseball's best bullpen units before this surgery; they will continue to do so after. Their strikeout rate and FIP suggest the current roster reliever group will sustain sub-3.50 ERA performance for the remainder of June and July. Any line movement downward on Dodgers team totals or run-line pricing following this announcement should be viewed as an overcorrection to news that changes almost nothing about how this team wins games.

Graterol's contract expires at season's end, making this his final appearance in a Dodgers uniform almost certain. The franchise's willingness to operate without him confirms a deeper truth: he was never going to be the difference-maker this year. For bettors, that clarity is valuable. The headline looks damaging. The reality is that the Dodgers were already designed to win without him.