The scenarios for the future of Julio Urías in the MLB
The Los Angeles Dodgers won their tenth division title in 11 years, their eleventh consecutive appearance in the Major League playoffs and the fifteenth in the last 20 seasons. And Mexican pitcher Julio Urías, one of the club’s main weapons in recent times, was not there to celebrate with his teammates.
Worse still: the left-hander will not be available to help in the attempt to stop the overwhelming advance of the Atlanta Braves as the representative of the National League in the World Series and, most likely, he will not wear the only jersey he has. used throughout his professional career.
Urías is on administrative leave, while facing accusations of domestic violence by Los Angeles authorities and an independent investigation by the commissioner’s office, which seeks to determine whether the player violated Major League Baseball’s internal policies.
Due to his history of domestic violence and the fact that he will become a free agent in November, Urías’ future in the Major Leagues (MLB) is extremely uncertain at this time.
WHAT WE KNOW: On Sunday, September 3, Urías was arrested by Los Angeles police on charges of domestic violence and released after posting $50,000 bail. Police said Urías was arrested for a violation of Penal Code 273.5, which is bodily injury to a spouse or cohabitant. Bodily injury to a spouse requires that the bodily injury be intentionally caused by physical force and is a felony.
Urías was also on administrative leave in 2019 following an arrest for alleged domestic assault. Although he was not charged, after the victim decided not to press charges against him, Urías was required to complete a year-long domestic violence counseling program and was suspended for 20 games by MLB.
Since MLB and its Players Association (MLBPA) approved the joint policy against Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse, no player has been suspended twice for violating the program.
WHAT’S COMING: Urías has a court date on September 27 and what happens there will define his immediate future, but only in the legal aspect. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred will decide whether the pitcher deserves a penalty and the extent of it, based primarily on the league’s investigation.
If found guilty, Urías could face an exemplary sanction for being a repeat offender.
It is fair to remember that American pitcher Trevor Bauer, Urías’ former teammate with the Dodgers, received a historic suspension of 324 games (which was later reduced to 194 games by the independent arbitrator), despite the fact that he was found not guilty not one, but twice, by Californian justice. Bauer was reinstated in December 2022, but the Dodgers released him in January 2023 and no major league team re-signed him, not even because he would be released.
FUTURE AT STAKE: In addition to the fact, the worst thing about the Urías case is the moment in which it occurred.
The 27-year-old left-hander was the starting pitcher in the Dodgers’ first game this year and was 11-8 with a 4.60 ERA in 117.1 innings when he was placed on administrative leave. In his eight-year career, he is 60-25 with a 3.11 ERA in 158 games and 710 strikeouts in 717 innings.
In the postseason he has been a horse (8-3, 3.68 and 60 strikeouts in 58.2 innings) and in 2020 he was a key piece in winning the Dodgers’ first World Series since 1988. Urías had a 4-0 record, an ERA of 1.17 and struck out 29 batters in six games (2 starts and 4 reliefs) in that magical postseason, which included a perfect seven-out save in the final game of the fall classic against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Because he was left-handed, effective and young, Urías was in a position to go to the market to claim the richest contract in history for a Mexican player in the Major Leagues.
But a second sanction for domestic violence will probably alienate most of his previous suitors and condemn him, at best, to signing short-term contracts.
Los Angeles, an organization for which he has played since he was 16, already signaled its decision to move forward without Urías when he cleaned out his locker in the clubhouse and made way for second baseman Kolten Wong.
In the best of cases, if Urías is exonerated from Los Angeles justice and from the MLB punishment, even if he gets a job, he will surely not be in the same previous conditions. The simple fact that you have been arrested and investigated a second time makes you a high-risk advertising hire.
