Bad News for Dodgers’ Already Depleted Rotation
Photo by Wall Skalij (Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ season of rotation injury horror continues with a blow right before the All-Star break. In addition to Kershaw’s latest shoulder trouble, the Dodgers officially cut off any hope of seeing Dustin May start another game this season as he will go in for surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his pitching elbow.
The 25-year-old right-hander from Texas, who the Dodgers community has crowned “Red Lightning,” is now locked into the 60-Day Injured List (IL). May cannot seem to catch a long enough break to show that he has a season’s worth of talent every year, but this is now his second serious elbow surgery on his pitching arm since he went through with a Tommy John procedure in 2021. Since being called up to the show in 2019, he has not pitched more than 15 games in a season.
Photo by Mark J. Terrill (Getty Images)
May has been out since he went only one inning in a start against the Minnesota Twins on May 17th. His current timetable to return to any field could be as long as six months.
With May scheduled for surgery on July 18th, he will begin his own long rehab process that other Dodgers pitchers, from both the rotation and bullpen, are also going through.
Dodgers Pitchers On At Least the 15-Day Injured List:
SP Clayton Kershaw (Shoulder)
RP Shelby Miller (Neck)
SP Walker Buehler (Elbow)
SP Ryan Pepiot (Oblique)
SP Jimmy Nelson (Elbow)
RP Alex Reyes (Elbow)
RP Tyler Cyr (Shoulder)
RP Blake Treinen (Shoulder)
RP J.P. Feyereisen (Shoulder)
SP Dustin May (Elbow)
The Dodgers are now looking to the young rookie arms of Bobby Miller (5-1) and Emmet Sheehan (2-0). This situation of losing reliable and trusted arms is not only putting pressure on these young pitchers but the team as a whole.
#MLBCentral talks through the Dodgers pitching plans moving forward with news that Dustin May is out for the year and Clayton Kershaw is heading to the IL. pic.twitter.com/R7h8OpIGCy
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) July 5, 2023
The race in the NL West is getting as close as it has been all season heading into the All-Star break in Seattle next week. Kershaw is expected to be back at the start of the second half of the season, and the Dodgers (0.5 GB) even have a chance to end the first half with the division lead, starting with a quick two-game sweep against Shohei Ohtani and the Angels.
Looking ahead, however, this pitching staff is running out of arms, and perhaps a big move could be made before the August 1st trade deadline.
