Los Angeles Dodgers left-handed pitcher Julio Urias has taken the next step in his recovery, as he posted a video on his Instagram story throwing off a mound for the first time. Urias wasn’t fully on the rubber but it’s progress nonetheless.
The Dodgers caught an unfortunate break in the middle of the 2017 season when Urias injured his shoulder during a start for Triple-A Oklahoma City. He pitched through some discomfort to complete the outing, and it wasn’t until lingering soreness that testing was required.
It was then determined Urias would undergo season-ending anterior capsule surgery. At just 21 years of age, the Dodgers have been taking things extremely cautious in regards to his recovery considering he has such a bright future ahead of him.
There has never been a set timetable that was made public, but the original hope was that Urias would be able to throw off of a mound around the end of Spring Training.
That did not end up happening though, as Urias was not quite ready to take that next step in his rehab process at the time. It appears he is now though, so he is not too far behind schedule.
While Urias throwing off a mound is a big step forward, he still is likely nowhere close to returning to game action. He will need to throw several bullpen sessions and long toss to continue to build up his arm strength and get the feel for his pitches back.
Returning and contributing at the big league level during the 2018 season is not out of the question, although it would likely be well after the All-Star break and possibly as a relief pitcher.
Regardless, it is nice to see that Urias’ shoulder is healing correctly even if it is taking a little longer than originally expected.
