When Julio Urias underwent season-ending surgery in 2017, there was optimism he would return to the Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation around the All-Star break this year. However, the recovery process has been a prolonged one for the young left-hander.
As such, Urias didn’t throw a baseball until February, and he wasn’t off a mound until the middle of May. Urias recently began a rehab assignment, starting two games for the Arizona League Dodgers.
From there he joined High-A Rancho Cucamonga, where he’s made three more starts. The latest of which came Tuesday night when Urias threw 2.1 innings in his longest outing to date.
While that was a step forward, the Dodgers aren’t yet ready to activate Urias, and he will instead remain on a rehab assignment, per Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times:
Manager Dave Roberts indicated Julio Urias would pitch again in the minors in three days, as he inches closer to rejoining the big league roster.
Manager Dave Roberts previously explained the Dodgers aren’t in a rush with Urias and asserted time remains to activate him. That’s in contrast to previous remarks Roberts made, when he said Kenley Jansen’s bout with an irregular heartbeat could lead to accelerating Urias’ timeline.
Though, Roberts soon after walked back the possibility. Los Angeles had previously adjusted their plan for the former top pitching prospect by building him up to only throw multiple innings as a reliever as opposed to preparing for the workload of a starter.
Urias has allowed five runs on eight hits, including three home runs, and struck out 15 in 8.2 innings across he five rehab starts.
