Julio Urias agrees to plea deal in domestic violence case

Aug 13, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Julio Urias (7) on the mound in the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Julio Urias has reached a plea deal with prosecutors.

Alden Gonzalez of ESPN reports this week that the former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Urias has agreed to plead no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge stemming from his domestic violence arrest last September. As part of the plea deal, Urias has been placed on 36 months of summary probation and must complete 30 days of community labor as well as a 52-week domestic violence counseling course. Urias must also meet several other requirements, including paying a domestic violence fund fee, not possessing any weapons, and paying restitution to the victim in the case.

The ex-NL ERA leader Urias was originally facing five misdemeanor charges from the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office. However, the other four charges against him have been dismissed as part of the plea deal.

Urias got arrested in early September after allegedly getting physical with his girlfriend outside of BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif. The couple had just attended a soccer match there between LAFC and Inter Miami. Some later details emerged about the alleged incident that were very troubling.

Major League Baseball placed Urias on administrative leave days after his arrest, and he went unsigned after his contract with the Dodgers expired following the 2023 season. With the legal process effectively complete, the door is now open for MLB to decide whether to suspend Urias under the collective bargaining agreement. That seems to be a likely outcome since Urias was already suspended by MLB after a previous domestic violence arrest in 2019.