The Los Angeles Dodgers and right-handed reliever Brusdar Graterol have reached an agreement on a one-year contract for the 2026 season, ensuring both sides avoid a salary arbitration hearing, sources confirm. The deal holds Graterol’s salary steady at $2.8 million, matching what he earned in the 2025 season.

Graterol’s arbitration eligibility comes as part of his fourth and final year under team control. With his career still developing and some recent adversity behind him, the sides were able to reach a consensus without needing to present their cases before a panel. The deadline for such arbitration exchanges has long passed, and teams around baseball have been finalizing deals with eligible players in recent days.

For the Dodgers, securing Graterol at the same salary he earned last year reflects both his track record and the impact injuries have had on his availability. The flame-throwing right-hander missed the entire 2025 season recovering from shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum, a procedure that cost him all regular-season action and limited his work on the mound.

Graterol had emerged as a key high-leverage reliever for Los Angeles prior to his injury, particularly in the 2023 season, when he posted a dazzling 1.20 ERA across 68 appearances while regularly touching triple-digit velocity. But recurring health issues have curtailed his ability to build on that breakout performance.

The arbitration process typically examines comparable player salaries, past performance, and service time to determine what a player should be paid. In cases like Graterol’s, where recent performance is limited by injury, teams and players often agree to keep salaries flat rather than risk an unfavorable outcome at a hearing. That dynamic likely helped both sides reach terms quickly.

From a roster perspective, Graterol’s return gives the Dodgers another veteran arm in a bullpen mix that figures to look quite different in 2026. Los Angeles added veteran closer Edwin Díaz in the offseason to shore up late-inning depth, and other arbitration-eligible pitchers like Anthony Banda and Brock Stewart.

As the Dodgers prepare for the upcoming campaign, getting Graterol back under contract without arbitration uncertainty allows the front office to focus on other roster building tasks. While he has yet to pitch a full season since his breakout year, the hope among Dodgers leadership remains that he can return to a meaningful role in the late innings once healthy.

Dodger fans will be watching closely in Spring Training and early 2026 to see how Graterol’s recovery continues, potentially making him a highly impactful piece of a bullpen that looks to be extremely good this upcoming season.