Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias saw his 2017 campaign come to an abrupt end after dealing with shoulder pain and ultimately undergoing anterior capsule surgery last June.
Still just 21 years old, Urias was initially projected to be sidelined for one at least year after the operation was deemed successful. Given the severity of the injury and his age, it’s understandable why the Dodgers are being so cautious with their one-time top pitching prospect.
While Urias isn’t expected to pitch at all during the first half of the 2018 season, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is optimistic that he’ll return to game action in July, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
Julio Urias still hasn’t thrown off a mound. Roberts said a hopeful target for return to game action is July.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) April 22, 2018
Urias didn’t throw off a mound during Spring Training, but recently began throwing from long distances for the first time since last season. A positive development was that he didn’t experience any pain while doing so.
Despite the progress, Urias’ throwing program was further delayed after having his tonsils removed at the beginning of April.
While it remains to be seen if the southpaw will return to a Major League mound in July as Roberts hopes, Urias will all but certainly begin his season on a lengthy Minor League rehab assignment to continue building up innings.
Once cleared and deemed healthy, Urias offers an intriguing option to an already solid Dodgers’ starting rotation that includes the likes of Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, Alex Wood, Kenta Maeda, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Walker Buehler.
