Legal Woes Increase For Ex-Dodger Julio Urías

By Dan Schlossberg

Remember Julio Urías? The embattled left-hander, who went 20-3 for the Dodgers in 2021, has been charged with five misdemeanors by the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office in the wake of his 2023 arrest.

According to The Los Angeles Times, those charges include one count of spousal battery, two counts of domestic battery involving dating relationship, one count of false imprisonment and one count of assault. Arraignment has been scheduled for May 2.

Mexican southpaw Julio Urias, now a free agent, was a star for the Dodgers before running into off-the-field legal problems.Photo byWikimedia

Known for his white-framed glasses and single digit number — unusual for any pitcher not named Blake Snell — Urías was a solid starter for the Dodgers after breaking into the big leagues at age 19.

Now 27, he won an ERA title (2.16 in 2022, when he went 17-7) and was a post-season stud (8-3, 3.68 while making six starts).

The 6-0, 225-pound southpaw returned to earth last season, the walk year of his contract, with a pedestrian 11-8 record and 4.60 ERA over 21 starts before running into legal trouble late in the season.

Arrested in early September, Urías was charged with “corporal injury on a spouse” after an alleged altercation occurred outside BMO Stadium in downtown Los Angeles after a soccer game between LAFC and Inter Miami.

He was placed on administrative leave by Major League Baseball, which is still conducting its own investigation into the pitcher’s off-the-field misbehavior.

The D.A. reported in January that Urías “pushed his wife against a fence and pulled her by the hair or shoulders” but stated that “neither the victim’s injuries nor the defendant’s criminal history justify a felony filing.”

As a result, the matter wound up in the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, which filed the five misdemeanor charges reported.

Major League Baseball has the power to impose discipline even in the absence of criminal charges under its Joint Domestic Violence policy — one of few areas of agreement it shares with the Players Association.

Urías was previously suspended for 20 games for violating the same policy in 2019 but no charges were filed then and he helped pitch the Dodgers to World Series victory a year later after the pandemic-shortened, 60-game season.

If he were suspended again, the portly Mexican pitcher would become the two-time violator of the domestic abuse policy, though the Office of the Commissioner is expected to wait until the city attorney’s case is done before making any decision on the case.

To say the lefty’s career is in jeopardy is putting it mildly. Nobody wants a hothead in uniform — just ask Trevor Bauer or Domingo German — and Urías seems as likely to be suspended even longer in free-agent limbo than he is in legal proceedings.

The Dodgers, who already tried but failed with Bauer, won’t come calling again, even though most of their best starters are currently on their injured list.

It’s too bad: the guy’s temper just supersedes his talent.

Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ covers baseball for forbes.com, USA TODAY Sports Weekly, Sports Collectors Digest, Memories & Dreams, MLB Report, Here’s The Pitch, and many other outlets. Email him at ballauthor@gmail.com.