Manager Dave Roberts said Monday that he expects Urias to capture a spot in the Los Angeles rotation in 2020, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports. "We project [Urias] to be a starter for us next year and many years to come," Roberts said.
Urias opened the current season in the rotation and has started in six of his 25 appearances, but the Dodgers have been mindful of restricting his workload in each of those outings, as he's topped 90 pitches on just one occasion. The Dodgers haven't formally outlined Urias' role for the remainder of 2019, but due to the recent big-league arrivals of prospects Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May along with the eventual returns of Hyun-Jin Ryu (neck), Ross Stripling (biceps) and Rich Hill (forearm) from the injured list, the team should have enough starting depth to get by with limiting the 22-year-old lefty to relief duty the rest of the season. Urias has already shown that he can provide value as a multi-inning reliever behind an opener or as a high-leverage stopper late in games. Over his 19 appearances out of the bullpen, he's submitted a tidy 1.93 ERA while limiting opposing batters to a .190/.268/.270 slash line.