After the 2018 season, the Los Angeles Dodgers proposed a one-year qualifying offer (compensated free agency qualification) to Ryu Hyun-jin (36, LA Dodgers), who qualified as a free agent (FA). And Ryu Hyun-jin held that hand.스포츠토토

It was a contract in which the interests of both parties were well aligned. Ryu Hyun-jin, who struggled for three years due to a shoulder injury received in 2015, recorded an average ERA of 1.97 with 7 wins and 3 losses in 15 games in 2018. He had good grades, but because of the aftereffects of the injury and his body being sick here and there, he only managed 82⅓ innings. There were still doubts in the eyes of the mayor looking at Ryu Hyun-jin. A one-year contract worth about $18 million was not a bad condition for Ryu Hyun-jin.

The Dodgers had their reasons. Although it became clear afterwards, the Dodgers did not plan to tie Ryu Hyun-jin, who was frequently injured and anxious about the aftermath of shoulder surgery, in the long term. There was also an ace resource that was looking at and preparing after Ryu Hyun-jin. However, I saw that the player was not 100% ready yet. So, in 2019, the strategy was to endure one more year as Ryu Hyun-jin and then greet a new ace. That player was Julio Urias (27).

Urias is a left-handed ace resource that the Dodgers cherished. He had already signed a contract as a teenager, and since then he has grown up with great effort. Urias also debuted in the major leagues in 2016, drawing the expected growth. He showed off his management skills and guts to the extent that it was hard to believe that he was a player who had just turned 20. However, after undergoing shoulder surgery, the Dodgers’ best-case scenario was blown away. That’s why Ryu Hyun-jin was needed.

As expected, the Dodgers and Hyun-Jin Ryu parted ways after the 2019 season, and Urias returned as a starter in 2020 and took over a spot. In 2021, when all restrictions were gone, he won the most wins in the National League with an outstanding performance of 20 wins and 3 losses and an average ERA of 2.96 in 32 games. Last year, he pitched 175 innings in 31 games, recording 17 wins and 7 losses with an ERA of 2.16.

Urias, who debuted in the major leagues at a young age, is as fast as obtaining free agent qualifications. He becomes a free agent after this season. He enters the free agency market much earlier than his peers. Popularity is an explosion. His skills have been verified, and he has proven that the aftereffects of the surgery are not great, and above all, he is young. Usually, free agent players appear on the market in their late 20s or early 30s, but Urias is still far from his prime.

▲ If the Dodgers are aiming for Ohtani (left), there is a high possibility that Urias will naturally give up.

Therefore, some predicted that contracts worth more than 200 million dollars in total would be safe. One reason for such a prospect was that there were not that many A- and S-class starting pitchers in the FA market this time. The only starting pitcher that could be judged better than Urias was Shohei Ohtani (29, LA Angels), who also serves as a hitter. Besides, Urias is left-handed. Considering the market situation thirsty for selection of lefties, $200 million was probably considered ‘basic’.

But Urias may be out of luck. Usually, players who are about to become free agents often improve their performance in the previous season with strong motivation called ‘FA roid’. As a club, you have to judge whether the performance is temporary or sustainable. But Urias is the opposite. Rather, he is struggling with both his position and grades in the season right before FA. The evaluation of ‘the largest left-handed fish’ is valid, but there is no way that the ransom will be fine at the original amount.

Urias had a problem with his speed falling slightly from the end of last season, and this year, the start of the season was not good. At the point where it seemed to recover somewhat, the command emerged as a problem. The angle of the curve was still good, but it was often driven, and his fastball got into trouble as his slugging rate soared. It was also painful to miss 40 days due to a hamstring injury without being able to solve the problem.

As of the 4th (Korean time), Uriah throws 81⅓ innings in 15 games and is staying with an average ERA of 4.98 with 7 wins and 6 losses. Compared to last year, both the hit rate and the number of home runs increased, and there are more cases where even if you throw well, it collapses at once. Even after returning from his hamstring injury, the jagged pitching content continues. After his return, he never pitched more than 6⅓ innings in six games.

There is a prospect that the original team, the Dodgers, will also turn away from Urias. The Dodgers often sign extended contracts before becoming free agents for players they must protect. However, Urias had no special offer. There is also the point that the Dodgers are targeting Shohei Ohtani, who is certain to have a total of over $500 million. You can’t catch Ohtani and Urias together.

On the one hand, Urias had been disciplined by Major League Baseball for domestic violence. The speculation that the Dodgers, who have memories of the superpower of release and the Trevor Bauer incident, which suffered measles due to sexual violence against women, considers Urias’ past burdensome, is constantly being raised in the local media. Attention is focusing on what team and how many contracts will be waiting for Urias in the future.