Monday, May 03, 2021

Dustin May Out Until 2022 (and probably 2023)

Oh man. If you were watching Saturday's game in Milwaukee, the third straight loss to the Brewers, it wasn't the extra-inning 5-3 blown lead in the 11th inning that crushed your heart. No, it was the loss of Dustin May, who exited in the second inning in the middle of an at bat, which is never a good sign.

Today's MRI in Chicago (because who would trust an MRI in Milwaukee, anyway?) indicated that the news was indeed depressing:

The worst-case scenario was confirmed Monday when an MRI exam revealed a torn ulnar collateral ligament. May will undergo Tommy John surgery to reconstruct the ligament on May 11 in Los Angeles. The club didn’t disclose if May has a complete or partial tear. Rehabilitation timetables are generally 12 to 16 months. Anything longer and there’s a chance he doesn’t pitch for the Dodgers again until 2023.

“When you’re developing and now you get the year cut short, that impacts development,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “What Dustin has done is he’s just matured more as a major league ballplayer. His work in between starts has been way more focused, way more consistent, there’s a routine in there, and he’s been pitching really well. To not be able to build on that is really unfortunate.”

May posted a 2.74 earned-run average and 0.957 WHIP in 23 innings across five starts this season. He compiled 35 strikeouts to six walks, striking out 13.7 batters per nine innings.

“That’s a significant loss for us,” third baseman Justin Turner said before the Dodgers announced May’s impending surgery. “That’s a significant arm that we’ve relied on and we were planning on relying on. Just feel terrible for Dustin.”

Of course, first and foremost, all the best to Dustin it what will be a long and arduous recovery. He's gonna be missed.

Secondly, what's left of the Dodgers' pitching squad will have to pick it up if we have any shot of getting this World Championship team back on the rails. It's almost absurd to think that, one month into this season, we've already slipped from first place and we are quickly running out of arms (thanks to injuries to Caleb Ferguson, Tony Gonsolin, Corey Knebel, Brusdar Graterol, and David Price). I always thought that Price, who started the year in the bullpen, would slot back into the starting rotation at some point; I just didn't expect it to be now. Not that Price is ready now; he's still nursing a hamstring injury sustained in the Dodgers' first of three series losses, against the Padres.

Can you imagine if we had not signed Trevor Bauer this offseason?!

As it is, I am pretty depressed. This season already looks like a disaster; come what, May?

screenshot from LAT

3 comments:

karen said...

Yeah Sax I'm depressed too. Just a week or so ago we were hearing about the two best teams in baseball...The Dodgers and friars. Now it's like will we even win the division? Which of course is a big deal but I can't help but feel so bad for Dustin May. It seemed with each start this season the kid was coming into his own. How long has he been dreaming to be a starting pitcher in MLB? I hope he is strong mentally and doesn't let this horrible turn of events get the better of him. Dodger fans are the best there are Dustin, we'll keep the good thought and can't wait to welcome you back.

QuadSevens said...

Huge loss for the team and I'm sure Dustin feels really disappointed about being hurt. He really was turning into another great starter for the Dodgers. I hope that Corey Seager talks to him and gives him some advice on how to stay focused and not get down on himself during his recovery.

Steve Sax said...

I also think Dustin should tell Corey to stop swinging at the first pitch if it means grounding into a double play.