Back in February, before the suspension of spring training, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts named Julio Urías a member of the club’s starting rotation. The Dodgers had lost Hyun-Jin Ryu and Rich Hill to free agency and Kenta Maeda was traded to Minnesota, so Urias was expected to be given a shot as in the number five spot for the team.
That was when David Price was penciled in as the team’s third starter behind Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler, and Jimmy Nelson was on the active roster. Since then, Price has decided to opt-out of the shortened season, and Nelson was lost for the year due to unexpected back surgery.
According to Roberts, Urias is expected to follow Kershaw and Ross Stripling in the third spot as part of the Dodgers rotation to begin the season. This is a big step up from the fifth spot which might have seen him skip a start or two depending on the schedule.
Speaking about Urias, Roberts said,
“Just for him to have the clarity to now go out there and execute pitches, I think is a good thing. Julio’s got a good head and is very mature beyond his years. We want him to take it start-to-start and see where it leads up.”
The young left-hander is in his third season with the team. He is coming off a solid 2019 season where he went 4-3 with a 2.49 ERA, and a 1.08 WHIP in 79.2 innings. He made eight starts last year and appeared in a total of 37 games.
Urias is expected to pitch on Monday against the Diamondbacks in his final tuneup before the regular season.
Dodgers Notes
- The Major League Baseball’s operations manual stipulates that to limit the total number of people, that no television announcers are to travel to road games. Joe Buck and Orel Hershiser are expected to call away games from their booth at Dodger Stadium.
- The Dodgers are still the favorites to win the World Series according to Las Vegas oddsmakers and MLB Betting Guides.
- Manager Dave Roberts said the Dodgers will practice the extra-inning rule that starts a runner on second base at the start of the 10th
- The Dodgers announced that they had optioned right-handed pitcher Tony Gonsolin to their alternate training site at USC.
- Former Marlins closer A.J. Ramos who was this week is expected to see action against the Diamondbacks or Angels next week. Ramos hasn’t pitched in two seasons because of shoulder surgery.
- Connecting with reporters via Zoom call yesterday, Gavin Lux did not disclose why he stayed in Wisconsin and missed initial workouts at Dodger Stadium.
- Following a pair of bullpen sessions this week, Walker Buehler pitched a little over two innings in Friday’s inter-squad game, retiring all seven batters he faced.