Julio Urías has been on the 15-day injured list with a left hamstring strain since May 20, but he now is on the verge of returning to the Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation.
The original hope was that Urías would miss the minimum amount of time and return on or shortly after June 3, when he was first eligible. But Urías continued to deal with soreness and that delay cost him roughly a week.
Over this past weekend, Urías threw a bullpen session and came out of it well. He then participated in a simulated game prior to the Dodgers’ series opener with the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday.
With those two hurdles out of the way, he is now lined up to face the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, via SportsNet LA:
“We got our work in. I think when you’re facing your own teammates, we got through it. There was two innings on the field and we sort of ran out of time on the field, so he threw to more in the ‘pen. I think right now where we’re at, I was just talking to him, we feel confident that he’ll make his start on Sunday. So I think that’s a positive.”
The Dodgers planned to make sure Urías was 100% healthy before his return and Roberts now feels they have reached that point where they won’t have to monitor the hamstring issue moving forward:
“I think we’re past it. He says at times it feels a little bit tight, but not kind of limiting at all, or strenuous, or straining at all.”
Urías last pitched in the Dodgers’ series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium when he gave up six runs on six hits over just three innings. The southpaw allowed four homers during the outing, including three consecutive blasts in his final inning.
Overall this season, Urías is 5-4 with a 4.39 ERA, 5.32 FIP and 1.16 WHIP in 10 starts. He will hope to get back on track upon his return as he is due to become a free agent at the end of the season.
Who will Julio Urías replace in Dodgers rotation?
When Urías returns, he will likely take the spot of Noah Syndergaard or Michael Grove in the Dodgers rotation, depending on any injuries that may occur.
Grove has Minor League options remaining, which could push him out of a rotation spot so the club can retain some extra depth. However, Grove also looked highly effective in his last outing, despite the somewhat poor results.
Syndergaard has not been able to find his footing with the Dodgers and would be the better choice to be replaced, but releasing him would cut into the team’s pitching depth, which is already lacking. Syndergaard could be demoted to the bullpen or land on the IL, which may allow him to work through some of his issues.
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