GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Righty reliever Brusdar Graterol will slow-play his ramp-up during Spring Training, manager Dave Roberts said Saturday, creating uncertainty around his availability for Opening Day.
Graterol missed all of last year after undergoing right shoulder labrum surgery in November 2024. He remained a distant possibility to return in '25, but he was unable to ramp up fully by season's end. The Dodgers thought he would be full go coming into camp, but Graterol wasn't where the team expected him to be when he threw off the mound Friday.
"It’s still kind of the velocity’s not near where it’s going to be," Roberts said. "So I think that it’s a slow progression. I just don’t know where that puts us. But it’s a slow process for Brusdar."
Graterol has been an effective leverage reliever for the Dodgers in the past, but shoulder and hamstring injuries have limited him to just 10 appearances (seven in the regular season and three in the postseason) since the beginning of 2024. The Dodgers spent much of last season searching for a right-handed reliever capable of neutralizing righty batters as well as Graterol could.
If Graterol needs to miss time to begin the season, the Dodgers have options to fill his spot in the bullpen. Closer Edwin Díaz and Blake Treinen are locks, and the following group of arms represents some of the top candidates to round out the right-handed side: Ben Casparius, Edgardo Henriquez, Kyle Hurt and Will Klein.
Brock Stewart will also be a right-handed relief option down the line. He has been expected to begin this year on the injured list since undergoing a debridement procedure on his right shoulder last September, and he is optimistic that he'll be healthy for the majority of the season. Stewart plans to start throwing off the mound by the beginning of March.
Stone takes on four-time MVP
Rather than ease into official pitcher and catcher workouts, right-hander Gavin Stone had to take on one of the best hitters in baseball right from the start.
Stone, who had right shoulder surgery about a month before Graterol in 2024, faced hitters on Saturday -- including Shohei Ohtani. Stone went through four simulated plate appearances against Hyeseong Kim, Will Smith and Ohtani at Camelback Ranch. He walked Ohtani his first time up, but when Ohtani came to the plate a second time, Stone struck him out.
Before the live batting practice session, Roberts said this was a "great sign" for Stone, who will build up as a starter this spring. Stone had a breakout 2024 before undergoing shoulder surgery, leading the Dodgers with 140 1/3 innings and posting a 3.53 ERA across 25 starts.
Neither Stone nor right-hander River Ryan, who also missed last season due to Tommy John surgery and threw a bullpen session Saturday, made it into rehab games in 2025. Even without checking that box, they're considered fully healthy this spring. The Dodgers could have an open spot in their season-opening rotation with uncertainty surrounding Blake Snell's availability, but they must decide whether to slow-play Stone and Ryan or build them up at a regular pace.
"You’re certainly going to need more arms early," Roberts said, "because it’s early in the season. … Do you deploy those innings earlier more on the front end versus the back end and slow-play them? It’s a science, not exact, and those are conversations that we have daily. But it’s going to be a balance, a little bit, with a lot of these guys.”