LOS ANGELES — Brusdar Graterol walked into DodgerFest last Saturday sounding like a guy who’s tired of talking about setbacks and ready to talk about baseball again. The last few seasons have been a stop-and-start grind as he worked back from surgery and tried to get his shoulder to cooperate. This winter, though, he kept circling back to the same point. He feels good, and he feels close.

“Thank you for this opportunity,” Graterol said. “I feel great. Thank God. Thank God another year here with the team. So, yeah, I feel great.”

Dodger fans know the tantalizing story of the flamethrowing Graterol by heart. Top-end stuff, but a history of injury. After a remarkable 2023 (1.20 ERA in 68 appearances), the Bazooka has been bit by the injury bug: he only threw 7.1 innings in 2024, and didn’t get on the mound at all last season.

When he was asked where he’s at health-wise, he didn’t hesitate. “Right now I’m in a very good position,” Graterol said. “I feel great in my body. I feel great. I’m continuing like that. I’ve been working hard, too, and I’m ready to roll.”

The buildup is still in progress, but he laid out where the throwing is right now. “Right now it’s just throwing like 200 feet, easy,” he said. “But I think next week I’m going to start to throw, ready for training. Let’s go.”

Last year, he said the hardest part was living in that in-between space, where the arm might feel decent one day and cooked the next. “That was hard for me,” Graterol said. “I had good days, bad days, but I had more bad days. I never give up.”

He talked about how long he tried to push through it, even as the season moved toward the postseason. “The last month to the postseason, unfortunately I tried to be back, too,” he said. “But my arm, my shoulder was so tired because I’d been throwing all year trying to be back.”

Eventually, he made the call to stop chasing the short-term return and build for the next season. “One day I said, ‘You know what, I want to stop, ready for next year,’ and then I’m here,” Graterol said.

The timing of when it started to feel normal again is still pretty recent. “I think two weeks ago I feel like me again,” he said.

So when the question turned to Opening Day, his answer was quick. “Yes,” Graterol said, when asked if he feels like he’s on track.

He also made a noticeable change with his body over the past year, and he spoke about it like it’s tied directly to how everything feels when he throws. “Yeah, I lose weight,” Graterol said. “I lose fat, too, because I’ve been doing eating, like all that. So right now I stop that. That’s why I feel better. My body, my arm, everything.”

Pressed for a number, he gave an estimate. “I think 15 pounds, maybe,” he said. “December was a good December, but yeah, I think I’m good.”

Even while he was rehabbing, he had to watch from the outside as the Dodgers finished the job again. That part still hit him. “I’m so excited,” Graterol said about seeing the team win another World Series. “So exciting. This year, I think it’s going to be a great year for us because we have a lot of caballos here. So, yeah, it’s going to be a great year.”

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