LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers took another step toward permanently severing ties with pitcher Julio Urias, removing the left-hander’s locker in the clubhouse.
A mural in the right field corner of the loge level of Dodger Stadium that depicted Urias was covered by a large curtain and another in left field was painted over at the start of their three-game homestand against the San Diego Padres.
Urias was arrested on Sept. 3 outside BMO Stadium after leaving the MLS game between LAFC and Inter Miami CF and was booked for felony domestic violence. Urias did not join the Dodgers on a just-completed six-game road trip to Miami and Washington D.C. Last Wednesday, MLB placed Urias on administrative leave while it investigates the incident that led to his arrest.
“Right now, we’re still in wait-and-see mode,” Dodgers vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Monday. “It’s in Major League Baseball’s hands, and for right now, for us, it’s about having adequate space for players that are in there. Nothing more, nothing less.
“Obviously, when there is more news, then we will react accordingly.”
Urias is set to become a free agent at the end of the season and is not expected to return to the club before the end of the current campaign. Urias has been on the Dodgers’ pitching staff since 2016 and was on the mound for the final out of their 2020 World Series championship.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he wasn’t aware Urías’ locker had been removed until he arrived at the stadium ahead of Monday’s game.
“I think that was an organizational thing. I didn’t know,” said Roberts, who added that he has not had any conversations with Urias over the last week-plus. “It’s sad. It’s sad on every level.”
Roberts was asked if the locker removal was a clear sign to the team that Urias will not be back.
“I think so,” Roberts said. “I think that’s kind of where we’re at.”
The Dodgers signed Urías when he was a teenager in Mexico in 2012. The 27-year-old grew into one of the majors’ top starting pitchers over the past four seasons, winning 20 games in 2021 and leading the majors with a 2.16 ERA last year in addition to his World Series heroics in 2020.
But Urías has been arrested twice in four years over domestic violence-related incidents, serving a 20-game suspension following his arrest in May 2019. While he was never charged in 2019, he was required to complete a year-long domestic violence counseling program in addition to the MLB suspension. No player has been suspended twice under the league’s policy, which was instituted in 2015.
He is due in court again on Sept. 27.
ONE MORE DAY
After saying Clayton Kershaw will have his next start pushed back to Friday, Roberts amended that, adjusting the left-hander’s next start to Saturday, on the road against the Seattle Mariners.
Kershaw was originally supposed to start Monday’s series opener against the San Diego Padres but right-hander Gavin Stone was called up to take that outing instead.
In discussing a schedule with the coaching staff, Roberts said a move to a Saturday start lines up Kershaw best for the remainder of the regular season and on into the playoffs.
Kershaw will throw a “heavy” bullpen session Tuesday, according to Roberts, in a sign that injury concerns have diminished. Kershaw spent six weeks on the injured list with a shoulder injury and his fastball was down to an average of 88.4 mph in a start last week in Miami.
“I just talked to him early today and he said he feels really good, the arm’s working well,” Roberts said. “For me, I feel better about Clayton than I did yesterday and better than I did two days ago.”
The Dodgers are working on mechanical adjustments and Roberts believes Kershaw will be operating with more velocity Saturday.
If all plays out the way the Dodgers envision, Kershaw, Bobby Miller and Lance Lynn will comprise the rotation in a best-of-five National League Division Series.
“I theory, yeah,” Roberts said.
MAKING MOVES
To get Stone back on the roster to make the start against the Padres, the Dodgers placed right-hander Wander Suero on the injured list with lower back tightness.
Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough is not with the team for the impending birth of his child, but no paternity move was made, with the Dodgers operating with one less player on the roster Monday.
EFFICIENCY PERSONIFIED
That four-pitch outing right-hander Joe Kelly made in a rehab outing at Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on Sunday was not a cause for concern. Roberts called it “Joe being Joe,” with Kelly recording two outs with his four pitches before calling it a day.
Kelly, acquired from the Chicago White Sox in the deal that also brought Lynn to the Dodgers, has been on the injured list since Aug. 13 with right forearm inflammation and remains in line to return to the club Wednesday.
UP NEXT
Padres (RHP Michael Wacha, 11-3, 2.99 ERA) at Dodgers (RHP Lance Lynn, 10-11, 6.09 ERA), Tuesday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM
The Associated Press contributed to this story.