Dodgers News: Julio Urias Isn’t Worrying About His Impending Free Agency

The struggles of the Dodgers’ pitching staff have been apparent to everyone. It has caused much frustration within the organization and from the fans as the year has gone on. Injuries and inconsistent play from the arms have caused uncharacteristic results for LA and it has been strange to see.

LA has seen some regression from some of their more trusted pitchers, which is part of the problem. One of these pitchers has been left-hander Julio Urias, who has found it difficult to maintain any sort of consistency this season.

Urias has been one of the better pitchers across Major League Baseball over the last few seasons. He has been a relied upon asset for the Dodgers during that time and was looked at as the ace of the team heading into this season. But at least so far, Urias has looked a bit off from his normal self. 

Some have wondered whether his impending free agency has played a role at all but the lefty denied that and said his only focus is on baseball.

“Obviously everybody knows what’s happening, it’s not a secret. But my focus is on baseball and feeling good,” Urias said, denying his looming free agency has been a distraction. “I don’t worry about the results, I worry more about feeling good and that’s what I’m still searching for, being more and more consistent every time I get on the mound. I’m still optimistic and I’m confident that it’ll come.”

Per SNLA

Urias has shown flashes of his former self but the inconsistency is there. In his latest start, he was rocked by the Baltimore Orioles for eight runs over five innings of work. But in his previous two starts prior, he only allowed two runs over 12 innings and he added in 15 strikeouts as well. 

“It just didn’t seem like he was really comfortable out there.” Dave Roberts on Julio Urías’ outing.

This has been a theme for Urias this season and many have wondered why this is happening. His numbers other than his ERA are similar to his last two seasons so it just doesn’t make a ton of sense. 

For the year, Urias owns an ERA of 5.02 which is quite higher than he is used to. In 2021, he held an ERA of 2.96 and then in 2022, he posted an ERA of 2.16. Additionally, he has now allowed the same amount of earned runs in 2023 that he did for the entire 2022 season.

The upcoming free agency has to be playing a factor, at least a little bit. There is no other reason for his weird performances. Hopefully Urias can get things together soon because the Dodgers are going to need him to be his dominant self as the season winds down.

Photo Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

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