Brusdar Graterol

Brusdar Javier Graterol

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 265 lb.

• Debut September 1, 2019

• Born August 26, 1998 in Calabozo, Guarico Venezuela

BR page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Brusdar Graterol made his major league debut for the Minnesota Twins at the end of the 2019 season, going 1-1, 4.66 in 10 games in relief. He impressed enough to be added to the postseason roster and pitched once in the Twins' loss to the New York Yankees in the Division Series, giving up no hits or runs while striking out two batters in one inning of work.

Graterol was signed by the Twins on August 29, 2014 and made his professional debut the next year with the DSL Twins, going 0-1, 2.45 in 4 starts. After missing all of 2016, he returned to action in 2017 with the GCL Twins and Elizabethton Twins, where he was a combined 4-1, 2.70 in 10 games. In 2018, he had an outstanding year split between the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Fort Myers Miracle, going 8-4, 2.74 in 19 games - all starts. He struck out 107 batters in 102 innings. In 2019, he continued his climb up the organizational ladder with a record of 6-0, 1.71 in AA with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. He then made 4 relief appearances in AAA with the Rochester Red Wings, going 1-0, 5.06 before his call-up to Target Field.

On February 4, 2020, he was traded to the Boston Red Sox in return for veteran starting pitcher Kenta Maeda, whom the Red Sox had just acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of the blockbuster trade for OF Mookie Betts. The Red Sox were interested in cutting payroll, and the expensive Maeda did not fit into their plans, which is why they were interested in acquiring a promising and much cheaper pitcher like Brusdar. A few days later, however, rumors emerged that the Red Sox were not happy with Graterol's medical results, as they indicated that he was not ready to become a major league starter, which apparently put the whole deal in jeopardy. The Red Sox reportedly wanted another top prospect as compensation, and the Twins were unwilling to budge. The matter was settled on February 10th when the Sox agreed to return Maeda to the Dodgers in exchange for prospects Jeter Downs and Connor Wong, and the Dodgers acquired Graterol from the Twins, along with prospect Luke Raley, in return for Maeda and Jair Camargo. Working mainly as a reliever, Brusdar had a very solid year for the Dodgers in 2020, going 1-2, 3.09 in 23 games, with a 13/3 K/W ratio in 23 2/3 innings. He picked up the save in the second and clinching game of the Wild Card Series against the Milwaukee Brewers on October 1st, pitching a scoreless 9th inning in relief of Clayton Kershaw and completing a 3-0 combined shutout.

In 2021, he shuttled between Los Angeles and AAA, making 34 appearances in the majors, including 1 start, and going 3-0, 4.59. In 33 1/3 innings, he allowed 34 hits and struck out 27 batters. In the postseason, he went 0-1, suffering the loss against the Atlanta Braves in Game 2 of the NLCS on October 17th when as the Dodgers' 6th pitcher of the evening, he started the bottom of the 9th with the score tied at 4 and allowed a lead-off single to Travis d'Arnaud. Cristian Pache came to run for hom, but was erased when Dansby Swanson messed up an attempt at a sacrifice bunt, tapping the ball back to Brusdar, who relayed it to SS Corey Seager to force out Pache. He then got Guillermo Heredia to hit a weak grounder to third for the second out, with Swanson advancing to second, and then gave way to Kenley Jansen who was unable to record the final out that would have sent the game into extra innings: Eddie Rosario singled through the infield and Swanson scored the winning run. This was the only blot on an otherwise excellent postseason, the only run he allowed on just 4 hits - all singles - in 9 innings, spread over 8 outings; he did not walk anyone and struck out 7 during that time. That made him the team's most effective pitcher that postseason, and he did it by regularly reaching 100 mph on the radar gun.

Notable Achievements

• Won two World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020 and 2024

Further Reading

• Mike DiGiovanna (Los Angeles Times): "Brusdar Graterol has the 'best stuff on the planet.' So why isn't he a closer yet?", Yahoo! News, March 19, 2023. [1]
• Mike Petriello: "The secret weapon in the Dodgers bullpen: 4.59 ERA in 2021 obscures flamethrower's value", mlb.com, April 1, 2022. [2]
• Joe Reedy (The Associated Press): "Family reunion: Brusdar Graterol's mom sees her son pitch for first time in the majors", Yahoo! Sports, September 20, 2023. [3]

Related Sites

• Brusdar Graterol on mlb.com