The Nationals released Urena on Tuesday.
Urena, who signed a minor-league deal with the Nationals over the winter, slashed .231/.268/.321 in 142 plate appearances at Triple-A Rochester this season. The 26-year-old infielder hasn't appeared in the majors since 2019, when he saw action in 30 games with the Blue Jays.
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Nationals' Richard Urena: Moves to minor-league camp
Rotowire
The Nationals reassigned Urena to minor-league camp Monday, Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington reports.
Urena joined Washington on a minor-league deal in November and was unable to show enough during spring training to warrant serious consideration for a spot on the Opening Day roster. He's seen most of his action in the middle infield, primarily shortstop, but also saw time at third base in camp with the Nationals. Urena appeared in 92 games at the Triple-A level in 2021 and hit .272/.310/.435 with nine home runs, 41 runs and 49 RBI.
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Nationals' Richard Urena: Getting look at third base
Rotowire
Urena got the start at third base in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets, going 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored.
The two-bagger came off starting pitcher Josh Walker, and it was already Urena's second double of the spring after he laced one off the Marlins' Cody Poteet on Friday. With Carter Kieboom (forearm) currently sidelined and likely to miss the beginning of the season, Nationals manager Dave Martinez is considering all his options at third base, and Urena is competing with utility player Ehire Adrianza and non-roster invitee Maikel Franco for a possible Opening Day starting assignment. Urena spent all of last season at Triple-A Buffalo in the Blue Jays organization, slashing .272/.310/.435, and the 26-year-old infielder has a .253/.300/.336 slash line over 263 big-league plate appearances.
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Nationals' Richard Urena: Joins Nats organization
Rotowire
Urena signed a minor-league contract with the Nationals on Sunday.
Urena will move on to the third organization of his career following a stint with Baltimore and two with Toronto. While with the Blue Jays in 2021, Urena spent the entire campaign at Triple-A Buffalo, hitting .272 with nine home runs and two stolen bases across 350 plate appearances.
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Blue Jays' Richard Urena: Won't break camp in big leagues
Rotowire
Urena was assigned to minor-league camp Saturday.
Urena was in camp as a non-roster invitee but was always a long shot to break camp with the team. He'll serve as added depth in the infield but won't necessarily be one of the first names the Blue Jays call on in an injury crisis as he isn't on the 40-man roster.
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Blue Jays' Richard Urena: Back with Blue Jays
Rotowire
Urena signed a minor-league contract with Toronto on Friday. The deal includes an invite to spring training.
All of Urena's professional game action at any level has come as a member of the Blue Jays' organization, including 91 big-league games in which he hit an uninspiring .253/.300/.336. He spent 2020 with the Orioles' organization but never made the team's big-league roster. The 24-year-old doesn't profile as anything more than a utility infielder, as he's yet to produce an above-average batting line above the High-A level.
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Orioles' Richard Urena: Remaining in big-league camp
Rotowire
Urena cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.
Urena was designated for assignment by Baltimore last week but will remain in the organization after going through waivers unclaimed. The 23-year-old will continue to work in the major-league camp as a non-roster invitee.
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Orioles' Richard Urena: Dropped from roster
Rotowire
Urena was designated for assignment by the Orioles on Wednesday.
Urena was plucked off waivers from Toronto in late December but won't wind up making it to Opening Day on the Orioles' 40-man roster. Andrew Velazquez was claimed off waivers from Cleveland in a corresponding move.
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Orioles' Richard Urena: Scooped up off waivers
Rotowire
Urena was claimed off waivers by the Orioles on Friday.
Urena was designated for assignment by Toronto at the end of the 2019 calendar year after hitting .243 with four RBI over 30 contests in the big leagues. The utility infielder could have a better chance of seeing consistent playing time as part of a rebuilding Baltimore squad.
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Blue Jays' Richard Urena: Designated for assignment
Rotowire
Urena was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays on Monday.
The 23-year-old has gotten into 91 games at the major-league level over the last three seasons, hitting a modest .252/.300/.336. Given his age, he still has plenty of time to prove that he's more than just a utility infielder, but he's yet to convince that he's even worthy of that title. By removing him from the roster, the Blue Jays clear a spot for the newly signed Travis Shaw.
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Blue Jays' Richard Urena: Called up for final month
Rotowire
Urena was recalled by the Blue Jays on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old has gotten into 79 big-league games over the last three seasons but hasn't had much success at the plate, hitting .255/.302/.337 with just two homers and a 32.2 percent strikeout rate. He'll have to fight for playing time with a group of more highly-rated young infielders down the stretch.
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Blue Jays' Richard Urena: Sent to minors
Rotowire
Urena was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday.
Urena was promoted earlier in the week and went 0-for-1 while appearing in two games. The 23-year-old returns to Buffalo, where he has a .280/.318/.399 slash line in 92 games.
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Blue Jays' Richard Urena: Returns to big leagues
Rotowire
Urena was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Urena earned a spot on the Opening Day roster but has been at Triple-A since late May. The 23-year-old provides some added infield depth with the Blue Jays starting a three-game set on the road versus the Dodgers.
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Blue Jays' Richard Urena: Demoted as expected
Rotowire
Urena was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo on Friday.
Urena heads back to Buffalo after a week in the majors, with Cavan Biggio and Lourdes Gurriel getting called up Friday. Urena struck out five times in eight at-bats during the brief major-league stint, in which he received a pair of starts at second base.
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Blue Jays' Richard Urena: Heading back to Triple-A
Rotowire
Urena is expected to be sent back to Triple-A Buffalo on Friday, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Urena's latest trip to the big leagues will last just one week. He went 0-for-8 with five strikeouts over that stretch. He'll join Billy McKinney in heading to Buffalo, with Cavan Biggio and Lourdes Gurriel set to be recalled.
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Blue Jays' Richard Urena: Summoned to majors
Rotowire
Urena was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday.
Urena will take the roster spot of Teoscar Hernandez, who was sent to the minors in the midst of his early season struggles. The 23-year-old will likely operate as a utility infielder during his time with the big club. He appeared in 11 games for the Blue Jays earlier in the year, slashing .313/.333/.406 with three doubles in those contests.
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Blue Jays' Richard Urena: Back in majors
Rotowire
Urena was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo prior to Sunday's game in Oakland.
Urena is a capable defender, so he will continue to see time in the majors as long as he remains on the 40-man roster, but there is no evidence that Urena can be productive against big-league pitching (career 84 wRC+, 31.9 percent strikeout rate). He should get the occassional start while he is up.
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Blue Jays' Richard Urena: Demoted to Triple-A
Rotowire
Urena will be sent to Triple-A Buffalo prior to Saturday's game against Tampa Bay, John Lott of The Athletic reports.
Urena got off to a solid start at the dish through his first eight games of 2019 and went 8-for-24 with three doubles over that stretch. He'll head to the minor leagues to make room for Clay Buchholz on the 25-man roster.
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Blue Jays' Richard Urena: Surprises with bat in start
Rotowire
Urena went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored in Sunday's extra-innings loss to the Tigers.
Getting the start at shortstop and hitting eighth, Urena was the only Jay to collect multiple hits on the day. The 23-year-old has a career .364 SLG in 173 big-league at-bats, so performances like this are likely to be rare, but given his strong glove and all the moving parts on the team's infield, he could get more playing time than you might expect in 2019 -- assuming he isn't the roster casualty when Vlad Guerrero Jr. gets the call.
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Blue Jays' Richard Urena: Wins roster spot
Rotowire
Urena was informed Tuesday that he would be included on the Blue Jays' Opening Day roster, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
The 23-year-old switch hitter will serve as a utility infielder for Toronto, a role that will likely afford him only a couple starts per week. With a .257/.311/.341 slash line, two home runs and three steals over 183 career plate appearances in the majors, Urena won't carry much fantasy appeal if he finds himself in a full-time role at some point this season.
