Julio Urías was placed on the 15-day injured list May 20 with a left hamstring strain, and the original hope was he would return to the Los Angeles Dodgers rotation after missing the minimum amount of time.
The hamstring strain was not believed to be serious, and furthermore, there was no expectation it would affect him long-term. With the IL-stint retroactive to May 19, Urías is eligible to be activated on June 3, but that currently seems to be in question.
Urías was due to test his hamstring during a bullpen session at Tropicana Field, but is still dealing with soreness that limited him to throwing from flat ground. Thus, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Urías is no longer on track to be activated once immediately eligible as he still needs to get through a bullpen session and facing batters, via SportsNet LA:
“[Friday] he tried to kind of add a little bit of intensity and felt a little bit of soreness (in left hamstring). So [Saturday], he kind of stepped on it, felt good coming out of it. I’m probably going to digress a little bit in the expectation for next week. To get him out there to do a simulated game to face hitters, would be the next possible checkmark after the ‘pen, which is going to probably happen Tuesday. So I think it’s safe to say we’re just going to make sure that he’s 100% ready before he takes the mound ready.”
With Michael Grove nearing the end of his rehab assignment, the Dodgers may elect to give Urías more time to recover rather than rushing him back. But a specific time frame for when the 26-year-old returns is still up in the air:
“I’m hesitant to even put any timeline on it. I think it’s fair to say Tuesday, a ‘pen, and then in the ensuing days he’ll throw a live at some point and then we’ll see how he comes out of each of those things.”
Urías last pitched in the Dodgers’ series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, allowing six runs on six hits, including four home runs, over just three innings.
Overall this season, Urías is 5-4 with a 4.39 ERA, 5.32 FIP and 1.16 WHIP in 10 starts. He is due to become a free agent at the end of the season.
Dodgers looked into if Julio Urías tipped pitches
Following his start against the Cardinals, which included Urías giving up back-to-back-to-back homers, the Dodgers looked into whether he may have been tipping pitches.
However, they could not find evidence of that. Urías did allow all four homers on mistake pitches near the middle of the plate, which is the more likely cause for the struggles. It’s also believed the left hamstring trouble had an impact as well.
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