Los Angeles Dodgers: Julio Urias to undergo shoulder surgery

The Los Angeles Dodgers will be without the services of young left-hander Julio Urias for at least the next 12 months due to shoulder surgery.

For years, MLB teams have tried to figure out the best way to build up their young starting pitchers. The Los Angeles Dodgers thought they had it figured out with Julio Urias.

They did their best to protect that valuable left arm and try to build and save his innings for when they needed it the most.  A left arm that, with Clayton Kershaw, could be a devastating top of the rotation for years to come in the National League West.

Alas, there isn’t a secret formula, and the Dodgers are going to be without Urias for quite a long time.

Johan Santana had the same surgery and could not quite come back from it. That’s not to say Urias can’t, and maybe the fact that he’s so young can help. However, it’s a major surgery to have.

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Urias was 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA in five major league starts this season. He was 3-0 with a 2.59 ERA in three AAA starts.

The Dodgers, outside of Kershaw, do have rotation questions. Can Brandon McCarthy and Alex Wood stay healthy? Can Rich Hill get his control back? What happened to Kenta Maeda?

If the Dodgers weren’t thinking about going after a starting pitcher in the trade market, they certainly should be now. Urias could have been that impact arm for the second half of the season, but now they won’t have his services until well into the 2018 season.