GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Brusdar Graterol is not expected to be ready for the start of the season.
The team is taking it slow with the 27-year-old right-hander in his comeback from surgery for a torn labrum. Graterol last pitched for the Dodgers in the 2024 World Series.
Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts told reporters Wednesday the hard-throwing Graterol won't be on the active roster for opening day.
Graterol had surgery on his right shoulder in November 2024, soon after appearing in three World Series games for the champion Dodgers against the New York Yankees. His only other games for Los Angeles that year were seven relief appearances (2.45 ERA in 7 1/3 innings) during the regular season, when he missed time with shoulder inflammation and a hamstring strain.
He agreed in January to a $2.8 million contract for this season to avoid salary arbitration. He can become a free agent next offseason.
Graterol has a career record of 11-9 with a 2.78 ERA and 11 saves. He has thrown only 181 innings over five seasons with the Dodgers, though he had a 1.20 ERA in 2023 while setting career highs with 67 1/3 innings and 68 appearances.
Los Angeles acquired Graterol from Minnesota at the start of spring training in 2020 in a trade that sent Kenta Maeda to the Twins.
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FILE - Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Brusdar Graterol tosses the ball to third base during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, July 2, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
The group of 15 backcountry skiers headed out on a three-day trek organized by Blackbird Mountain Guides into pristine wilderness near Frog Lake in California's Sierra Nevada as a powerful winter storm moved into the state.
The skiers on Sunday made their way to remote huts situated at 7,600 feet (3,415 meters) in Tahoe National Forest, carrying their own food and supplies. At 6:49 a.m. that same morning, the Sierra Avalanche Center had issued an avalanche watch for the area, indicating that large slides were likely in the next 24 to 48 hours.
Two days later, as the group was making its way back out to a trailhead and the center increased the watch to a warning, an avalanche hit near Castle Peak, trapping the skiers. Authorities said Wednesday that eight people were killed and one person remained missing. Six skiers were rescued after sheltering in place for hours as search crews battled blizzard conditions.
Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said investigators were looking into the decision to proceed with the trip on Sunday despite the forecast for a major storm.
“We’re still in conversation with them on the decision factors that they made,” Moon said at a Wednesday news conference announcing the deaths.
Before the disaster, the tour company said its guides were highly skilled in dealing with extreme conditions and that it offered avalanche education. It’s not known if the guides would have known about the avalanche warning as they returned to the trailhead.
“If you’ve booked the Frog Lake Huts in Truckee, trust our guides to elevate your trip to the next level,” the business said on its website, advertising the trip. “We’ll navigate in and out of the huts, manage the risks, and find the best terrain and snow quality for you and your group!”
Blackbird Mountain Guides said in a statement Tuesday that it was coordinating with authorities. Three of the guides were among those killed, officials said.
The company, with offices in California and Washington state, offers mountaineering and backcountry ski trips across the U.S. West Coast as well as in Europe and Japan. The tour outfit also offers safety courses like wilderness skills and first aid.
The rugged terrain where the skiers died had been closed to the public for a century before the Truckee Donner Land Trust bought it and opened the huts, which are outfitted with basic accommodations such as sleeping pads, gas stoves and flush toilets.
The tour, which cost $1,165.00 per person, was rated for intermediate-to-expert skiers with at least 20 days of backcountry experience who should be prepared to climb up to 2,500 vertical feet (760 meters) throughout the course of a day, according to the company’s website. Guides carry first aid kits and “wag bags” for human waste disposal, but participants must bring their own ski equipment and avalanche gear, including a beacon, shovel and probe.
“Generally our guides are able to find excellent backcountry snow conditions, but often we need to travel through difficult conditions to access the goods,” the website description said. “This requires riders to be adept with their backcountry touring skills and have a solid foundation of touring before the trip.”
Rapidly accumulating snow piling on fragile snowpack layers, along with strong winds, contributed to the treacherous conditions this week. The town of Soda Springs, near where the avalanche took place, recorded at least 30 inches (76 centimeters) of snow during a 24-hour period, according to the Soda Springs Mountain Resort.
Anthony Pavlantos, owner of Utah-based Prival USA, makes avalanche safety equipment and runs mountain safety programs. He said often the safest option in severe weather is to leave rather than hunker down.
“When you have high intensity snowfall, let’s say 12 inches of snow in 24 hours, it’s a really big red flag,” he said. “High intensity snowfall in short amounts of time can increase the avalanche hazard fast. So, you already have a snowpack sitting on the snow and then you have all this new snow that’s falling down at a high rapid rate. That new snow can slide on that old snow surface.”
Associated Press writers Julie Watson in San Diego and Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this report.
Snow covers a road on an underpass along interstate 80 on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026 near Soda Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)
Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon updates media on rescue efforts following an avalanche at a news conference in Nevada City, Calif. on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Tran Nguyen)
Snow piles up along a road on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026 near Soda Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)
Snow covers a street sign on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026 in Truckee Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)
A road is cleared during a snow storm on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026 near Soda Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)
A street is covered in snow on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026 in Truckee Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)
