Slowly but surely, Los Angeles Dodgers young left-hander Julio Urias is making his way back from the season-ending shoulder surgery he underwent last July.
He recently began throwing to live hitters for the first time since suffering the injury, and things seem to be going well. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently said he expects Urias to return in 4-6 weeks.
It was unclear what Urias’ role would be with the team when he returns considering he hasn’t seen game action in over a year, although Roberts has now provided clarity.
Urias is close to heading out on a Minor League rehab assignment, and during that he will be built up to be able to throw around three innings per appearance, via Stephen Cohn of MLB.com:
“I think there’s a build-up,” Roberts said. “Where we’re at on the calendar, to say we’ll build him up to six [innings] and 90 [pitches] doesn’t make any sense. We don’t want to classify him as a reliever, but I would say that the realistic build-up would be a little more abbreviated. I think a build-up of three [innings] and 45 [pitches] makes a little sense.”
Considering that the Dodgers already have six healthy starting pitchers and that they will potentially be involved in a pennant race in the last couple months of the season, it makes sense that Urias is not going to be stretched out as a starter.
Whether he winds up making a few starts or pitching out of the bullpen, any contributions that Urias makes in 2018 for the Dodgers will certainly be welcomed if he is healthy.
The Dodgers still view him as a starter longterm, so he will likely return to his traditional role next spring.
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