Presumably in effort to again scale back his workload so as to leave open the possibility of contributing later in the season, the Los Angeles Dodgers optioned Julio Urias to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday. Austin Barnes was recalled to fill the spot on the active roster.
Hyun-Jin Ryu’s elbow tendinitis that forced him to the 15-day disabled list and moved Bud Norris’ scheduled start up one day led to Los Angeles recalling Urias to face the Washington Nationals.
He allowed one run, five hits, and had four strikeouts over four innings of work. Urias on the season is 1-2 with a 4.69 ERA and 1.51 WHIP in nine starts with the Dodgers.
The young southpaw presumably will adhere to the previous plan set in place of working as a reliever and starter for Oklahoma City. Los Angeles is back to four starting pitchers on the active roster, but with off-days technically will not need a fifth starter until Aug. 6.
Barnes was part of the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster and joins the club for his third stint this season. He’s only appeared in 10 games (five starts) and hit .105/.227/.105 (2-for-19) with one RBI, three walks and seven strikeouts over 22 plate appearances.
In 63 games with Oklahoma City, Barnes batted .299/.383/.454 with 16 doubles, four triples, five home runs and 32 RBIs. He logged time at catcher (46 games), second base (11 games), third base (eight games) and center field (one game).
