The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Julio Urias underwent anterior capsule surgery on Tuesday, officially bringing his 2017 season to an end. The operation was performed by team doctor Neal ElAttrache.
“The surgery was a success,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “In seeing the message from Dr. ElAttrache, he’s a lot more optimistic than he was when he first was going to do the surgery. It was very clean. There was some debridement he had to clean up and there was an attachment of some sort.”
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friemdan previously estimated a recovery timeline of 12-14 months. While shoulder surgery for a pitcher can prove to be a tricky proposition, Friedman is optimistic Urias will make a full recovery.
That stems from the 20-year-old not having any damage to his labrum or rotator cuff was a positive development. So too was the fact that Urias sustained the injury on one pitch, and not attrition because of a heavy workload.
The Dodgers did consider a rehabilitation program over surgery, but the uncertainty of the end result was too difficult to accept.
That would have called for a period of rest followed by a gradual build-up akin to Spring Training. Friedman estimated it to be a four-month process. Had the Dodgers found it was unsuccessful, scar tissue and other factors could have created for a more complex surgery.
Urias remained in extended Spring Training began and debuted this year with Triple-A Oklahoma City. He joined the Dodgers at the end of April and was expected to remain with the club for the duration of the season.
Mientras más difícil sea tu camino,Dios multiplicará tus fuerzas y sabrán mejor las victorias #NEVERGIVEUP😜Puropa'👉🏽 pic.twitter.com/TeViHFMC2f
— Julio Urias (@theteenager7) June 27, 2017
However, a string of subpar outings and poor command led to Urias being sent back to Oklahoma City. Urias threw a combined 54.2 innings this season, his lowest total since throwing 54.1 across 18 starts with Low-A Great Lakes in his first professional season in 2013.
Urias tossed 122 innings last year, and was expected to finish in the neighborhood of 150-175 this season.
