As injuries plagued the Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation during Spring Training and onset of the regular season, the club relied on its impressive depth to weather the storm. Among those to initially benefit with increased roles included both Julio Urias and Ross Stripling.
Originally tabbed for a bullpen spot to begin the season, Urias was slotted into the rotation as a result of Rich Hill suffering a knee injury in his final Cactus League outing. The 22-year-old took full advantage of his newfound opportunity.
Having made four starts to date in 2019, he enjoyed his finest performance on Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers, yielding just one hit in six shutout innings with a career-high nine strikeouts.
Now with both Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu recently returning from respective 10-day injured list stints, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed that Urias will transition to a relief role for the foreseeable future.
Roberts offered high praise for Urias as a starter, but believes his move to the bullpen is the best-case scenario for both sides going forward, via SportsNet LA:
“We feel he’s a Major-League starter. (But) with who we have in our rotation, to curtail and monitor the innings, it’s best for the Dodgers now and going forward. We want all of our guys to think they can be starters and get Major-League hitters out. Julio has certainly proven that.”
Roberts continues to be mindful of his need to exercise restraint with Urias. As tempting as it may be to take the proverbial training wheels off the young lefty, it’s easy to forget that the former top prospect is still just two years removed from major shoulder surgery.
Despite his forthcoming move to the bullpen, Urias reiterated that he is grateful to simply be part of the Dodgers’ pitching staff.
In four starts this season, Urias is 1-1 with a 3.66 ERA, 3.53 FIP and 1.07 WHIP over 19.2 innings pitched. He now looks to pick up where he left off as a reliever — a role he thrived in during the 2018 postseason.
