Urias to get two stops on Route 66
The ongoing oddity of Julio Urias’ April, in which the Dodgers are limiting his innings but still allowing him to pitch, took another turn Tuesday when the team announced the young left-hander would be optioned to Class-A Rancho Cucamonga, even though he is still scheduled to make his regularseason debut for triple-A Oklahoma City.
Manager Dave Roberts described the option as a “paper move.” Urias, 20, threw a bullpen session Monday at the Dodgers’ spring-training facility, Roberts said. Urias could move to Oklahoma City before the season starts there Thursday.
The Dodgers discussed the possibility of keeping Urias in extended spring training to start the season. And the team could still take that route. But, for now, Roberts indicated Urias would pitch in triple-A soon.
The team has not announced when Urias is expected to join the major league club. A bout of strep throat interrupted his spring and delayed his progression. Urias still needs to stretch out his arm beyond the three-inning mark.
“He’s not there yet,” Roberts said. “He was sick for a few days, and we also held him back a little bit. To build him up and to get the pitch count up, those are the reasons.”
At the moment, there is also no space for Urias in the rotation. The organization intends to grant Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-Jin Ryu an extended look as starting pitchers, and so they can afford to keep Urias on ice.
For now, at least.
Short hops
Jose De Leon, the pitching prospect the Dodgers traded to Tampa Bay for second baseman Logan Forsythe, began the season on the disabled list. De Leon is dealing with discomfort in the flexor mass muscle, which is located in the forearm, near the elbow. De Leon dealt with shoulder issues at times as a Dodger, which is one of the reasons he was considered expendable as the team pondered its trade options. … Dodgers minor league pitcher Edward Perez was suspended 72 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. Perez, 21, spent the last three seasons playing for the Dodgers’ team in the Dominican Summer League.