Major League Baseball placed Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias on administrative leave Wednesday amid its investigation into his felony arrest for domestic violence.
“Per an agreement between MLB and the MLBPA, Julio Urias has been placed on Administrative Leave until further notice as MLB continues its ongoing investigation,” the league said in a statement. “The administrative leave, which is effective immediately, is not disciplinary under the Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. We will refrain from further comment until the appropriate time.”
Manager Dave Roberts described his reaction as “shock.” General manager Andrew Friedman was “extremely” disappointed.
“Obviously, extremely disappointing development,” Friedman said. “For us right now, it’s having him and his representatives resolve this while we’re focused on both the near and long term.”
The 27-year-old left-hander was arrested Sunday night and released early Monday on a $50,000 bond. He has a court date scheduled for Sept. 27. The playoffs are scheduled to begin Oct. 3.
“It is just an extremely unfortunate circumstance for everyone,” Roberts added.
Urias is 11-8 with a 4.60 ERA in 21 starts this season. He is not with the team in Miami, where he had been scheduled to start Thursday night.
It’s Urias’ second domestic violence arrest in four years.
Players facing domestic crimes are typically placed on administrative leave by the league during the investigation.
Urias was previously arrested for domestic battery in May 2019. MLB suspended him 20 games after he allegedly pushed a woman to the ground in a Los Angeles mall parking lot.
Prosecutors elected not to file misdemeanor charges in that incident provided that he meet certain conditions, including 52 weeks of domestic counseling.
A 20-game winner in 2021 and the National League ERA leader (2.16) in 2022, Urias is 60-25 with a 3.11 ERA in 158 games (122 starts) since making his MLB debut with the Dodgers in 2016. He helped L.A. win the World Series in 2020 and finished third in the NL Cy Young voting last season.
Urias is pitching this season on a one-year, $14.25 million contract and is due to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.