Brusdar Javier Graterol (born August 26, 1998) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019 for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

Career

Minnesota Twins

Graterol signed with the

as an international free agent in August 2014. He made his professional debut in 2015 with the Dominican Summer League Twins where he was 0–1 with a 2.45 earned run average (ERA) in four starts. He missed the 2016 season after undergoing

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

. He returned from the injury in 2017 and pitched for the

Gulf Coast Twins The Florida Complex League Twins are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays in Fort Myers, Florida, at the Lee County Sports Complex. Prior to 2021, the ...

and

Elizabethton Twins The Elizabethton Twins were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They were located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and were named for their major league affiliate. The team playe ...

, going 4–1 with a 2.70 ERA in 10 games (seven starts). Graterol started 2018 with the Cedar Rapids Kernels (with whom he was named a Midwest League all-star) and was promoted to the Fort Myers Miracle in June. In 19 starts between the two teams, he went 8–4 with a 2.74 ERA and a 1.15

WHIP A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

. He began 2019 with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, earning Southern League all-star honors. On September 1, 2019, the Twins selected Graterol's contract and promoted him to the major leagues. He made his major-league debut that day versus the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

, pitching a scoreless inning in relief. In 2019 with the Twins, he was 1–1 with a 4.66 ERA, making 10 appearances totaling innings while striking out 10 batters.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On February 10, 2020, the Twins traded Graterol, Luke Raley, and the 67th pick in the

2020 Major League Baseball draft The 2020 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on June 10 and 11, 2020. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2019 MLB season ...

to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Kenta Maeda, Jaír Camargo, and cash considerations. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he appeared in 23 games (two starts) for the Dodgers and allowed eight earned runs in 23 innings, for a 3.09 ERA. In the postseason, he pitched one scoreless inning to pick up the save in the second game of the

Wild Card Series The Wild Card Series (formerly known as Wild Card Game from 2012 to 2019 and in 2021) are games that serve as the opening round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Major League Baseball postseason, postseason. A single wild card game was first ...

and scoreless innings in the second game of the

2020 NLDS The 2020 National League Division Series were two best-of-five-games series in Major League Baseball (MLB) to determine the participating teams in the 2020 National League Championship Series. These matchups were: *(1) Los Angeles Dodgers (West Di ...

. In the

2020 NLCS The 2020 National League Championship Series was the best-of-seven series between the two 2020 National League Division Series, National League Division Series winners, the 2020 Atlanta Braves season, Atlanta Braves and the 2020 Los Angeles Dodger ...

against the Atlanta Braves, he pitched in four games, allowing three runs in innings and in the

2020 World Series The 2020 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's 2020 season. The 116th World Series was a best-of-seven-playoff between the American League (AL) champion Tampa Bay Rays and the National League (NL) champion Los Ang ...

against the Tampa Bay Rays he pitched two scoreless innings over three games as the Dodgers won the championship. In 2021, Graterol pitched in 34 games for the Dodgers, with a 3–0 record and 4.59 ERA. In the postseason, he pitched one inning in the

Wild Card Game The Wild Card Series (formerly known as Wild Card Game from 2012 to 2019 and in 2021) are games that serve as the opening round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Major League Baseball postseason, postseason. A single wild card game was first ...

, innings in the

2021 NLDS The 2021 National League Division Series were two best-of-five-games series in Major League Baseball (MLB) to determine the participating teams of the 2021 National League Championship Series. The three divisional winners, seeded first through thir ...

and innings in the

2021 NLCS The 2021 National League Championship Series was the best-of-seven series in Major League Baseball (MLB) between the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers, for the National League pennant and the right to play in the 2021 World Series. The B ...

, allowing only one run on four hits while striking out seven. In 2022, Graterol pitched in 46 games and was 2–4 with a 3.26 ERA in innings. He also picked up four saves, with his first career save being on June 26 against the Braves. On January 13, 2023, Graterol agreed to a one-year, $1.225 million contract with the Dodgers, avoiding salary arbitration.

Personal life

Graterol grew up near Calabozo, Venezuela, and was raised by his mother, Ismalia, and grandparents. He married Allison Landa on January 22, 2021. Graterol's nickname is "Bazooka."

References

External links