Since his epic – and historic – final out of the 2020 World Series and through the offseason and the first three weeks of Spring Training, there has been constant talk – and speculation – that 24-year-old left-hander Julio Urías should pitch out of the Dodgers bullpen rather than take up a valuable spot in the Dodgers starting rotation.

That talk – and speculation – came to an abrupt halt on Monday afternoon at Camelback Ranch, when the hard-throwing lefty tossed three perfect innings against the Chicago White Sox in his second start of the Spring.

“He was pounding the strike zone. In his last outing, he was just missing with the fastball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters after his team’s 8-0 pounding of the White Sox. “Today, he located where he wanted to, and the change was good as well. Just a really clean outing for Julio.”

Clean indeed. In fact, the Culiacan, Mexico native needed only 26 pitches to retire all nine White Sox batters he faced in his three perfect innings of work.

“The plan was originally two innings, but then after my low pitch count, they asked me if I wanted to go out for a third inning,” Urías said through an interpreter after his brilliant – and perfect – outing.

As most fans know, the Dodgers have seven guys vying for five Opening Day starting rotation spots, with Urías often mentioned as an odd man out. The Dodgers may want to rethink this, especially after 35-year-old left-hander and former AL Cy Young award-winner David Price acknowledged on Monday that he had a discussion with Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman in early February about moving into the Dodgers bullpen to make room in the Dodgers 2021 starting rotation for 30-year-old right-hander and 2020 NL Cy Young award-winner Trevor Bauer.

Although Spring Training games are often referred to as ‘meaningless games,’ Price took over for Urías in the fourth inning on Monday and also retired the White Sox in order (one via strikeout) on 11 total pitches.

“[Relieving] is a little bit different than starting, but the mound is still 60 feet six inches; none of that stuff changes,” Price told reporters after his one-inning Spring Training debut. “My job doesn’t change, just go out there and get guys out and be ready for whatever.”

Needless to say, that ‘whatever’ would reduce the number of guys trying to land a starting rotation spot on April 1 and improve Urías’s chances of being one of them.

Play Ball!

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