Twice suspended under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy, left-handed starter Julio Urias wants to return to MLB when his suspension ends Thursday.
Urias’ agent, Scott Boras, told Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times that the pitcher hopes to return to the Major Leagues, though he’ll need time to get back into pitching shape. He last pitched in MLB in 2023, when he posted a 4.60 ERA in 117 1/3 innings over 21 starts before he was hit with a second domestic violence policy suspension after an incident with his wife outside a Sept. 3, 2023 soccer game at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
In a video posted to YouTube by KABC, the Los Angeles ABC affiliate, Urias can be seen rushing at a woman, pushing her against a fence, and swinging a closed fist at her as others attempt to separate them. On Sept. 6, 2023, MLB placed Urias on administrative leave while the incident was investigated. His Dodgers contract expired at the end of the 2023 season and he went unsigned in 2024. Major League Baseball announced earlier this year that Urias would remain suspended through the 2025 All-Star Break, which ends today. The native of Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico was charged with five misdemeanors , and ultimately pleaded no contest to one count of misdemeanor domestic battery, and the other four counts were dropped. He was sentenced to 36 months of probation, 30 days of community service and required to engage in counseling.
He had previously been suspended for 20 games during the 2019 season following an investigation into a domestic battery incident in May of that year.
In 2022, Urias finished second in the National League Cy Young Award balloting after posting a 2.16 ERA with 166 strikeouts in 175 innings, along with a 186 ERA+. He struggled with injuries in 2023 before his season ended due to the domestic violence investigation.
“He still has every intention to continue his career,” Boras told the Los Angeles Times on Monday. “He’s getting in shape. Obviously, he’ll have options that are open to him.”
Urias throws a fastball that tops out at 97 mph, complemented with a low-80s changeup, a curveball, and a slider. He has a career ERA of 3.11 in 717 innings of work over eight seasons, all with the Dodgers.
Whether he returns to Major League Baseball, however, will depend on whether or not a team is willing to take on the risk of negative publicity that would likely come from signing the only player suspended twice under MLB’s domestic violence policy.
Trevor Bauer, who was hit with the longest suspension ever issued under MLB’s domestic violence policy, has spent the last three seasons pitching in exile, first with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, then with the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol’s Diablos Rojos del Mexico, where he won the league’s Pitcher of the Year Award in 2024. He returned to Japan with the BayStars for the 2025 season, but has struggled and was sent down to the minor leagues.
Bauer has repeatedly stressed his desire to return to MLB, saying he’d pitch for the league minimum salary for any team that would sign him, but so far, no MLB club has wanted to take that risk, despite Bauer never having been arrested or charged with a crime related to the accusations of sexual assault that led to his 192-game suspension.
If Urias is indeed in need of time to get in shape, it’s unlikely that he would be able to pitch in the Major Leagues in 2025 season.
Now 28, Urias’ best option to continue his career, at least for now, may exist south of the border in his native Mexico. His hometown, Culiacan, has a team in the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico, one of the world’s premier winter professional leagues that sends its’ champion to the Caribbean Series each year. The LAMP season begins in early October, and Urias would have three months to prepare for the league’s 68-game season.
In 2023, Urias pitched for Mexico at the World Baseball Classic, making two starts and allowing seven runs on eight hits over nine innings, striking out 10 and walking one with a 1.000 WHIP. Should Urias be unable to find an MLB team willing to sign him, it’s possible that he could pitch for Mexico in the 2026 World Baseball Classic and use the opportunity as an audition for MLB clubs.
But the question will remain: Will Urias’ potential on the mound outweigh the potential outrage from fans?
Photo: Julio Urias pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
