Players

Dodgers News: Dave Roberts Doesn’t Think Julio Urias Will Be Distracted This Season

There has been nothing but excitement surrounding the Dodgers’ organization ever since Julio Urias was named to be the squad’s starting pitcher on opening day against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Multiple teammates of his, including fellow pitcher Clayton Kershaw, had been vouching for him to be given the honor and the front office did not disappoint.

Urias is coming off representing Team Mexico in the WBC and helped them make a run that almost resulted in a championship game appearance. In the two games that he started at the mound, the 26-year-old posted a 1.00 WHIP and allowed an opponent batting average of .242. Even though Urias didn’t perform up to usual standards, he still was key to Mexico’s success.



Following the announcement of his first opening day start, Dave Roberts ensured to the media that Urias has his eyes on winning with the Dodgers now.

“I’ll tell you this, he’s one of the best guys I’ve seen at compartmentalizing,” said Roberts. “I can’t appreciate the expectation that a country has for you, to be the face of a country right now as a ballplayer. And I just trust now that he has his focus on the season and what will be [with his contract] will be when it comes time. But he’s focused on helping us win a championship. I know that for a fact.”

Via Los Angeles Times

Urias has only known the Dodgers during his MLB career seeing that he started with them back in 2016 and has remained since. He was in the All-Star conversations last year and likely will make the team in 2023 as he looks to play his best brand of baseball to only try and capture a World Series, but also audition for a huge contract this next offseason.

That’s the biggest question surrounding the left-hander this season, will it be his last in blue? He along with MLB super agent Scott Boras will be looking for the highest dollar possible in free agency this coming offseason. With another big season, Julio could easily field $200 million-plus offers from teams around the league. He said at FanFest back in February that he’s just focused on the season but rumors have swirled about his interest in remaining with the team.

Over the past two seasons, Urias has recorded a 2.57 ERA and placed his name among the premier pitchers in the game. Few are as reliable as him throughout the course of the year and learning from one of the most experienced guys in Kershaw has certainly helped him.

I’m super excited to see how Urias continues to improve in 2023 and it will be a special, special day when he takes the mound next Thursday and throws the first pitch of our season.

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Noel Sanchez

Noel has a deep passion for sports and content creation. He is a huge fan of all Los Angeles teams and is currently pursuing a B.A. in Multi-Media Journalism at Cal Poly Pomona.

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