Dodgers’ Dustin May Tosses Scoreless Inning in First Appearance Since 2023, Marking His Return From Life-Threatening Injury
Right-hander Dustin May’s first spring outing was substantially more than just about baseball on Sunday in Arizona.
The 27-year-old hurler triumphantly returned to game action during the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Cactus League contest versus the San Diego Padres, where he faced live hitters for the first time in almost two years. It was a moment he wasn’t sure would ever come again.
Between Tommy John surgery in 2021 and flexor tendon surgery in ‘23, May hasn’t seen much of the field over the last four seasons. He’s spent more time rehabbing than pitching in actual games, barely logging more than 100 total innings during that span.
While the oft-injured lefty only threw one inning in his spring debut, the biggest takeaway is that he’s finally healthy again after tossing 15 pitches in his return, issuing one hit, a hit-by-pitch and one strikeout.
“It felt amazing just to be back,” May told reporters, including MLB.com’s Jack Magruder, after departing following his lone inning of work. “A huge, huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, it feels like — even if it wouldn’t have been a clean inning, just getting back in the dugout, feeling good, being here. It was really, really heavy. I’m alive. I’m glad I’m here. Just a huge excitement, like a breath of fresh air. Like a new beginning, kind of.”
After suffering a torn esophagus last summer, there was a chance this opportunity would never come for May, who had been rehabbing at the Dodgers’ training complex in Arizona. He was dining with friends and family when part of his salad got lodged in his throat before being rushed to a nearby hospital in Phoenix.
Drinking water only made the problem worse, as May said. So, upon arriving at the hospital, he underwent a CAT scan before being taken into surgery and wasn’t discharged until nearly two weeks later.
“After the first [surgery], I never felt right,” May described. “It never felt like I was ever in a good spot. After I got the second one, haven’t had a painful day of throwing since then, knock on wood.
“I was very close to getting back when I tore my esophagus. I was in a really, really great spot. It really sucked when it happened. I’m back to where I was then. I’m happy.”
Several months removed from his life-threatening injury, May finally has a sense of normalcy again following his first start of the spring, which was part of Los Angeles’ 8-3 victory over San Diego.
The 6-foot-6 southpaw’s velocity was down from where it was previously, averaging 94.6 mph on his sinker and 94.7 on his four-seamer – both a few ticks slower versus his 2023 averages. But that likely isn’t much of a concern at this point of his spring build-up.
“That’s just pitching,” May said. “Just trying to not allow a run, getting back to normal, getting back into the swing of things, trying to figure out how to get through stuff. That’s part of baseball.”
May registered a sub-three ERA in nine starts prior to undergoing season-ending elbow surgery in 2023, and the hope is he’ll be able to regain that form with a strong showing in camp. His role, however, will likely be extremely fluid once the season begins.
Los Angeles, which signed All-Star Blake Snell and Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki in free agency, has many other starters returning from injury this year, including Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Tony Gonsolin. They’ll also have Shohei Ohtani returning to the mound at some point shortly after the 2025 campaign begins.
The Dodgers could opt for a six-man rotation, allowing May to remain a starter out of the gate. But there’s also a chance he ends up moving to the bullpen, working as a multi-inning reliever.
That role may be better suited for him anyway, as the club could manage his workload more efficiently out of the ‘pen, likely improving his odds of staying healthy in 2025.
Given the setbacks May has overcome these last few years, though, he probably isn’t too concerned about where he pitches. Just as long as it’s on a major-league mound and against real competition.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Doug Kerr. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.