Dustin May is out for the season, and the Dodgers pitcher is in trouble.
The Dodgers announced Tuesday that May, who has not pitched since May 17, will undergo surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his right elbow. The 25-year-old received an injection of platelet-rich plasma six weeks ago to promote healing in hopes he could avoid the knife, a speculation that was confirmed over the holiday on Tuesday.
The surgery will be performed on July 18 by Dr. Neil Al Atrash — the same doctor who performed Tommy John surgery on May in 2021. May will also be undergoing a Tommy John review for Grade 2 sprains at University College London, according to a league source. the athlete. The hope is that he can come back in the middle of the season next year with the Dodgers.
The hard-hitting Mayo notched 15 outings after surgery before complaining of elbow discomfort after a first inning against the Twins as he showed diminished fastball speed. In nine starts this season, May has shown the kind of upside that made him a tantalizing talent, with a 2.63 ERA in 48 innings pitched while showing the same kind of electric stuff he did when he debuted.
Given the state of the Dodgers’ rotation, which lost Clayton Kershaw to the injured list Monday, it would have potentially been a disastrous blow. The Dodgers were only hopeful of May’s potential return, but their need for rotation was dire. Entering Tuesday, they were ranked 17th in baseball with a 4.40 ERA among starting staff, with a series of hurdles forming along the way. Seven different members of the Dodgers’ starting staff have hit the injured list at some point in the season, including Kershaw, May, and Julio Urías—the three primary starters the Dodgers were hoping to build their rotation around. The group also does not include Walker Buehler, who had Tommy John surgery a year ago. Urías has a 4.94 ERA in 11 starts this season. An All-Star a year ago, Tony Gonsolin saw his fast ball speed lose a few marks, and has seen his performance suffer this season, with a 3.69 ERA in 12 starts this season and a 6.39 ERA in five games since the beginning of June.
As it stands, the Dodgers currently have three starters in their rotation – Michael Grove, Bobby Miller, and Tuesday’s starter Emmet Sheehan, along with another starting prospect in their bullpen in Gavin Stone and another in Ryan Pepiot who’s been on the injured list. All season due to a skewed problem.
One of the areas of the menu that was originally seen as strength has suddenly collapsed. As much as Kershaw has endured this season, his shoulder problem will bring some scares for the rest of the season. Veterans like Urías and Gonsolin fared poorly. A lot is being asked of a talented, but unproven set of guns underneath. Additionally, the trade market looks cloudy, at best, with many clubs proud to start pitching work somewhere within the mid-region of the sport, close enough to post-season competition not to want to move out of those lots. .
That poses a challenge for the Dodgers at the end of this month. The club has done well enough to beat their primary team up to this point, in 10 games over . 500 (47-37) tackles on Tuesday. But really if they go into October they will be banking on being able to overcome injuries like this one, the latest in May’s promising career that consists more of short bursts than sustained success.
required reading
(Photo: Kiyoshi Mio/USA Today)
“Alcohol enthusiast. Twitter ninja. Tv lover. Falls down a lot. Hipster-friendly coffee geek.”