Dodgers: Projecting Urias’ career timeline post-surgery

On Friday, the Dodgers got the news that Julio Urias will need surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule in his left shoulder. This surgery is a major one that will require approximately 12-14 months to rehabilitate. The surgery will take place on Tuesday, June 27, 2017.

The Dodgers did everything they could to try and protect the young phenom’s arm, but it was unsuccessful. Now that the injury has occurred, it’s time to look to the future and see how his career track looks going forward.

This particular is not a very common injury, but some familiar names have had the procedure done. Johan Santana, Chien-Ming Wang, and Michael Pineda have all had the surgery. Unfortunately, none of them were really the same pitchers in their return.

The Dodgers remain optimistic because of Julio Urias’ age. The previous pitchers were not this young when they had the surgery. This means that Urias might be able to return a little bit faster, but I do not think the Dodgers will rush the process at all.

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The good news for the current ball club is that they have been playing great baseball without him. He made a few starts at the beginning of the season but was struggling, so he was sent back down the minors. The team had hoped he could contribute in the playoffs, but now that is out of the question.

I predict that we will not see Julio Urias pitch until spring training 2019. This would mean a recovery time of about 21 months. I realize that the projected time off is around 12-14 months, but that would mean a return in late August of next season.

Given his age and the amount of talent that he has, I cannot see the organization trying to bring him back next season. The Dodgers’ front office has tried to protect his arm so I can see Julio missing the entire next year.

This additional time will ensure that his shoulder is fully healed and allow him to build up arm strength during the offseason. This timeline would mean that the lefty would be pitching again at the age of 22. This is still way earlier than most pitchers who make it to the big leagues.

Next: Joc is turning things around

However, we cannot predict what type of pitcher Julio Urias will be upon his return. Make no mistake about the injury; it is a very serious one that creates a large cloud over his career. The Dodgers remain optimistic because of his young age, but the reality of it is all we can do is wait and wish Urias a speedy recovery.