The Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation has been decimated by injuries so far in 2018, with four of the team’s five Opening Day starters currently on the disabled list. The team also has a fifth starter on the disabled list in young left-hander Julio Urias.
However, that was expected as he underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in 2017. Urias has been making serious strides in his recovery in recent weeks, throwing off a mound for the first time.
It appears that his bullpen sessions are going well, as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said it’s plausible he will return by the end of next month, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
Roberts said he had not heard a recent update on Julio Urias, who had shoulder surgery on June 27, but he speculated that Urias might be game ready by the end of July.
That return date falls in line with the original timetable the organization set for Urias at the beginning of Spring Training this year. They projected him to start throwing bullpens at the end of the spring though, so Urias is a bit behind based on that.
He is still just 21-years-old, so the Dodgers will certainly proceed with caution in terms of his workload this season and probably in 2019 as well.
While Urias projects as a starter for the Dodgers long-term, it is possible that they utilize him as a reliever down the stretch of this season to not put too much of a workload on his surgically-repaired shoulder.
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