Left-hander Julio Urias (27-LA Dodgers), who pushed out free agent Hyun-jin Ryu (36-Toronto Blue Jays), is having a bad free agent season. His ERA has spiked well into the five-run range (5.02).
In his last start on 20 July against the Baltimore Orioles, Urias was roughed up for eight runs on eight hits (one home run) in five innings with two walks and two strikeouts. The eight earned runs tied a career high and were the first time he had allowed eight earned runs. He has allowed five or more runs in five of his 14 games this year.
Urias, who suffered his sixth loss of the season 바카라사이트 (seven starts) as the Dodgers fell to 5-8, saw his ERA jump from 4.35 to 5.02. It’s his highest ERA since 2017 (5.40), when he was out for the season with shoulder surgery. It’s his worst season since establishing himself as a starter in 2020.
Signed by the Dodgers in August 2012 as a 16-year-old prospect from Mexico for $1.8 million, Urias made his major league debut in 2016. He was strictly innings-managed after a shoulder injury, and after rehabbing, he had a successful full-time season in 2019, splitting time between starting and relief.
When the team’s ace in 2019, Hyun-jin Ryu, became a free agent after finishing second in the National League (NL) Cy Young Award, the Dodgers were not active in re-signing him. Yurias, who is nine years younger than Hyun-jin, was on the disabled list. Yurias, who took over as the starter after Ryu’s free-agent move to Toronto, helped the Dodgers win the World Series in the 2020 COVID-19 shortened season.
In 2021, he went 20-3 with a 2.96 ERA and 195 strikeouts in a career-high 185⅔ innings in 32 games. He led the NL in wins. He continued his momentum in 2022, going 17-7 with a 2.16 ERA and 166 strikeouts in 31 games (175 innings). He also led the NL in ERA, further enhancing his pitching quality.
[Photo] Julio Urias of the Los Angeles Dodgers. ⓒGettyimages (All rights reserved)
[Photo] Julio Urias of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Getty Images (All rights reserved)
After Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels), Yurias was tipped as the next big free agent, but he has struggled this season. In 13 games (70⅓ innings), he is 7-6 with a 5.02 ERA. His fastball is averaging 92.9 miles per hour (149.5 kilometres per hour), his lowest velocity since his rookie season, perhaps due to the aftermath of his World Baseball Classic (WBC) trip with Mexico.
He was placed on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring after a game against the St. Louis Cardinals on 19 May and missed about a month and a half. Since returning from the disabled list, he has gone 2-3 with an 8.22 ERA in five starts, including four starts since his return. He is represented by Scott Boras, but it’s hard to see him getting a big contract at this point.
According to MLB.com, after the Baltimore game, Urias said, “I was inconsistent again. The hitters gave me runs in the first inning and I couldn’t hold them. The mechanics and consistency just went out the window from there.” “No one is more frustrated than he is,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who was hoping for a bounce-back performance, saying, “With the fortunes of our team, he needs to pitch like he has in his career.” The Dodgers, whose starting pitching staff has been sidelined by injuries of all kinds, will have a tough time winning the World Series unless Urias can bounce back. /waw@osen.co.kr
[Photo] Julio Urias of the Los Angeles Dodgers. ⓒGettyimages (All rights reserved)
[Photo] Julio Urias of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Getty Images (All rights reserved)