New York, NY – In a stunning development, Major League Baseball announced on March 22, 2025, that former Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star pitcher Julio Urías has been suspended through the 2025 All-Star break, a penalty spanning over half the season. The suspension, handed down by Commissioner Rob Manfred, marks the first time a player has been disciplined twice under MLB’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Child Abuse Policy, signaling a significant escalation in the league’s stance on such violations.
Urías, a 28-year-old left-hander and free agent, has not pitched in the majors since September 1, 2023, when he was placed on administrative leave following an arrest outside BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. The incident, which occurred after Urías attended a Major League Soccer match on September 3, 2023, involved a reported physical altercation with his wife. Last May, Urías pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor domestic battery charge, resulting in 36 months of probation, 30 days of community labor, and a mandated 52-week domestic violence counseling course.
This is not Urías’s first encounter with MLB’s domestic violence policy. In 2019, he served a 20-game suspension after an arrest for suspected domestic battery, though he avoided prosecution by completing a counseling program. The latest penalty, effective immediately, bars him from signing with any MLB team until his reinstatement on July 17, 2025—coinciding with the end of the All-Star break. Unlike traditional game-based suspensions, this time-based sanction reflects his current free-agent status.
“The Office of the Commissioner has completed its investigation into allegations that free agent pitcher Julio Urías violated our policy,” Manfred said in a statement. “Having reviewed all available evidence, I have concluded that Mr. Urías violated our policy, and discipline is appropriate.” The suspension’s severity ranks it among the harshest in MLB history, trailing only Trevor Bauer’s 324-game ban (later reduced to 194) and Sam Dyson’s full-season suspension in 2021.
Urías’s career with the Dodgers was once a tale of triumph. Signed out of Mexico at 16, he debuted at 19 and became a postseason hero, securing the final out of the 2020 World Series. His 2022 season—20-3 with a league-leading 2.16 ERA—earned him a third-place finish in NL Cy Young voting. But his 2023 campaign faltered with an 11-8 record and a 4.60 ERA, and his off-field troubles have since overshadowed his on-field brilliance.
Reaction across baseball has been swift. Dodgers fans on social media expressed a mix of disappointment and resignation, with one X post lamenting, “From World Series savior to this—what a fall.” Analysts speculate that Urías’s MLB future hangs in the balance, with teams potentially wary of his baggage despite his undeniable talent. His agent, Scott Boras, declined to comment, leaving the pitcher’s next steps uncertain.
As Urías faces this massive suspension, the question looms: can a two-time offender reclaim his place in the majors? For now, the former All-Star’s road back to MLB looks longer and steeper than ever.
