This story was excerpted from Juan Toribio’s Dodgers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

LOS ANGELES -- Before the Dodgers’ much-anticipated game against the Yankees on Saturday, pitching coach Mark Prior, general manager Brandon Gomes and manager Dave Roberts, among others, huddled behind second base.

They were all there to watch Julio Urías throw a bullpen session off the Dodger Stadium mound. The high attendance for the bullpen wasn’t unusual. After all, if the Dodgers have any chance at winning a World Series this season, they’re going to need Urías at his best.

Urías went on to complete a 30-pitch session, utilizing his entire mix. It went well, but those bullpen sessions aren’t what Urías expected to be doing at this point in the season. He should be pitching every fifth day for the Dodgers, but a left hamstring injury has sidelined him for three weeks.

“The difficult part of this injury is that I wish I was out there and helping the team, but I know my teammates are giving it their best,” Urías said in Spanish. “Right now isn’t my time, but maybe my time is coming in the next couple of days or weeks and then we get to work on finding that consistency that I’ve had over the last couple of seasons.”

Over the last three seasons, Urías has been one of the Dodgers’ most important players.

In 2020, Urías stepped up big during the World Series run, making an impact as a starter and also as a multi-inning reliever, including recording the last seven outs in Game 6 against the Rays.

The following season, Urías took an even bigger step, becoming the only pitcher in the Majors to win 20 games. In 2022, his path to stardom took another giant leap when his 2.16 ERA led the National League.

This season, Urias was the Opening Day starter. After sharing the rotation with plenty of star pitchers in the past, it was finally Urias' time to show he could handle being the ace of a staff. On top of that, Urías is playing on the last year of his deal, adding some more pressure, though the left-hander has insisted that hasn’t crossed his mind much. 

Unfortunately for Urías and the Dodgers, things haven’t gone as planned for the Mexican left-hander. When healthy, Urías has been inconsistent and has already allowed 14 home runs over 10 starts. During his last start, Urías injured his hamstring in the third inning. 

Urías never wanted to get hurt this season, but maybe a minor lower leg injury is what will help him get back on track in 2023.

“Out of the bad, I always say you have to focus on something positive,” Urías said. “I think the guy upstairs is so good that he sends you challenges at the right time. I was definitely being inconsistent so he sent me a challenge. … I’m looking at it as a fresh start and leaving the past in the past.” 

The future for Urías is still somewhat uncertain, but he might be back with the Dodgers as early as Sunday against Philadelphia. He’ll throw a four-inning simulated game on Tuesday. If that goes well, the Dodgers feel confident throwing him back out there in a Major League game, possibly on Sunday against the Phillies or Tuesday against the White Sox.

That remains to be seen, but Urías seems to be mentally in a good spot. That’s good news for a Dodgers team that desperately needs its ace back on the mound to help fix a struggling rotation. 

“You just have to stay confident in your stuff and wait for the consistency to fall into place,” Urías said. “Sometimes things don’t go your way, but this injury happened at a time where maybe I did need a reset.”