Prior to Friday night’s exciting 10th-inning 3-2 walk-off win by the Dodgers over the Milwaukee Brewers, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman sat down with AM 570 LA Sports radio host David Vassegh for a one-on-one interview. And though the Dodgers top exec discussed a variety of hot topics with Vassegh, none was hotter than what the Dodgers are planning to do with 19-year-old phenom Julio Urias in the very near future.

It’s no secret that the Dodgers have been extremely cautious with their young left-hander – perhaps to excess – and have had him on a very strict innings limit since signing him as an international free agent as a 16-year-old in 2013. And while this probably won’t be changing anytime soon, Friedman had nothing but the highest of praise for the young Culiacan, Mexico native.

“First and foremost is the composure,” Friedman said, when asked by Vassegh what he likes most about Urias. “Just seeing how composed he’s been pitching in hostile New York and Chicago – he’s had some pretty tough draws – and then also San Francisco. But the arrow is pointing up and each time we see him kind of learn from his past outing and applying to that next outing, which I think bodes extremely well for his long-term future.”

Wednesday may be Urias’ last opportunity to win his first MLB game this season – at least as a starter.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

When Vassegh pointed out to Friedman that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had recently informed the media that Wednesday night’s start against the NL East-leading Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium – yet another tough draw for the young lefty – would probably be Urias’ last start for a while and that he might be headed for the bullpen, Friedman was a little less definitive on this. However, he did say that moving Urias to the bullpen is one option that they are exploring – perhaps even their biggest option.

“We’re really just kind of taking it start by start and as much as anything the puzzle of figuring out how to continue to develop Julio while balancing us trying to win,” said Friedman. “And I can definitely see a scenario at some point this season where, while monitoring his innings, that we have him contributing out of the bullpen.”

A huge part of that puzzle has to do with rehabbing right-hander Brandon McCarthy (Tommy John surgery) and rehabbing left-hander Hyun-jin Ryu (left shoulder surgery), who are both nearing a return to the Dodgers starting rotation. This would, of course, force the Dodgers to make changes to their current starting rotation. And though there is no exact return date set for either McCarthy or Ryu, it could happen within the next couple of weeks. The most obvious move would be to send Urias to the bullpen, however an additional move would have to be made if both McCarthy and Ryu are added to the starting rotation upon their respective returns.

Because Urias is a left-hander and because fellow lefty J.P. Howell is out of options, the most likely candidate to be optioned back to OKC is left-hander Adam Liberatore – although he has been quite efficient of late as well. Another possibility would be to send right-hander Carlos Frias back down. Frias was recalled from OKC on Sunday when struggling right-hander Mike Bolsinger was optioned back down. The 26-year-old Frias began the 2016 season on the disabled list for a strained oblique but was recently reactivated and made seven minor league appearance – two at Double-A Tulsa and five at Triple-A Oklahoma City. He posted a 1-3 record and 4.60 ERA during those seven appearances (five starts).

To add yet another layer to Friedman’s puzzle is that right-hander Frankie Montas, who the Dodgers acquired from the Chicago White Sox along with Trayce Thompson and Micah Johnson this past winter, is finally healthy after undergoing rib resection surgery on February 12. In his seven minor league appearances thus far (three starts) Montas is 0-0 with an excellent 2.25 ERA. Granted, the sample size is rather small – 16.0 total innings pitched – but he struck out 22 while walking only three in those 16.0 innings. While with the White Sox the 23-year-old Sainagua, Dominican Republic native appeared in seven major league games in 2015 (two starts) posting an 0-2 record and 4.80 ERA. But here again, he struck out 20 while walking nine over his 15.0 innings of major league work. Although Montas could certainly pitch out of the bullpen, the Dodgers have been stretching him out as a starter.

Only days after arriving arriving at Camelback Ranch for spring training 2016, Montas was under the knife for rib resection surgery. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

Needless to say, Friedman and company will have some very tough decisions to make in the next couple of weeks.

Stay tuned…