Dodgers notes: What’s next in the Julio Urías situation?

The Dodgers’ are without the services of Julio Urías, following his arrest late Sunday on a felony domestic violence charge. The left-hander did not travel with the team on the road trip.

Manager Dave Roberts and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman shared their thoughts on the situation, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register:

From Roberts: “I was shocked. Everyone was... It is just an extremely unfortunate circumstance for everyone.”

From Friedman: “Obviously, extremely disappointing development... There are still so many unknowns that we haven’t wrapped our arms around that yet.”

The Dodgers don’t have to look to far to find a replacement for Urías, as the team can call up right-hander Ryan Pepiot, who amazed last Wednesday with five scoreless innings in a sweep-clinching win over Arizona.

Calling up Pepiot would require either an injured-list move, or MLB placing Urías on administrative leave. The latter has not happened yet.

Walker Buehler is scheduled for another rehab start on Friday, with the hopes that he will be healthy before the postseason begins. Plunkett notes that the team is unwilling to speed Buehler’s recovery to fill the gap left by Urías, as the Dodgers are insistent on having the former All-Star make at least three rehab starts before being activating him.

Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times writes a column surrounding the Julio Urías situation, arguing that the southpaw should never toss another pitch again as a member of the Dodgers:

“He was given a second chance and he blew it. The Dodgers trusted him and he betrayed them. His enormous fan base continued to love him, yet he has once again embarrassed them... Julio Urías cannot throw another pitch as a Dodger... Julio Urías has to be done as a Dodger.”

Houston Mitchell of the Los Angeles Times also chimes in on the Urías situation, as well as discussing the recent series between the mighty Atlanta Braves, and an update on Walker Buehler, in the latest edition of Dodgers Dugout:

“However, if Urías did commit domestic violence, then he has thrown his last pitch as a Dodger. He was already scheduled to be a free agent after the season, and it seems highly unlikely the Dodgers would even attempt to re-sign him, especially after what they went through with Trevor Bauer. It could also mean the end of his major league career overall.”

ESPN’s Jeff Passan shared his thoughts on the situation, alluding the situation to other cases such as former Dodger Trevor Bauer and former All-Star reliever Roberto Osuna:

“Just because a player is good does not mean they will get a second chance in Major League Baseball, and one could make the case that for Urías, this would be a third chance.”

Links

• Prior to Tuesday’s game against the Miami Marlins, Mookie Betts sat down with Marlins outfielder Jazz Chisholm in the latest episode of the podcast On Base with Mookie Betts, discussing topics such as fashion in baseball and the way Chisholm is expanding the culture of modern baseball.

• The Athletic released their latest Power Rankings for the first full week of September. Despite a series loss to Atlanta and splitting their last eight games, the Dodgers rank tied for second in the rankings along with the Baltimore Orioles.