The Dodgers activated reliever Brusdar Graterol from the injured list a day earlier than expected on Tuesday night.
It wasn’t for the reason the team was hoping.
Shortly before first pitch of Tuesday’s 6-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs, the team announced that key left-handed reliever Anthony Banda was on the injured list with a fractured left hand.
The cause of the injury?
“It was a moment of weakness and frustration,” manager Dave Roberts said, “where he decided to take on a solid object that ultimately won the battle.”
AKA, Banda hit something out of anger (Roberts didn’t say what) after giving up two runs in an outing Monday night.
“Emotions kind of played into it, with the outing that he had last night,” Roberts said. “It’s something that I know he regrets, we all regret. And he’ll learn from it.”
Roberts was hopeful that Banda — a midseason minor-league acquisition who has carved out an important role in the Dodgers bullpen — would return before the end of the season, noting the pitcher only had a hairline fracture on his throwing hand.
“It’s going to be a few days without throwing,” Roberts said. “And then hopefully we can build him back.”
Banda, who has a 3.23 ERA in 46 outings this year, was not in the Dodgers clubhouse when reporters entered after the game.
Graterol was initially expected to be activated Wednesday, after missing the last month with a hamstring strain he suffered in his season debut on Aug. 6 — one that was delayed because of a shoulder injury he suffered in spring training.
The hard-throwing right-hander, who was initially feared to be out for the rest of the season after being helped off the field in his only outing this season, returned to action with a scoreless ninth inning in the defeat, working around two hits while touching 99 mph with his fastball.
“I think that, certainly looking at the quality of contact he was giving up, he’s not sharp, nor should he be,” Roberts said of Graterol, who has been a top set-up man for the Dodgers in years past. “But that’s part of it. We’ve got time to sharpen things up with Brusdar.”
