Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Dustin May exited his start on Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins (LAD 7, MIN 3) after the first inning with right elbow pain, according to the team. After the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters that May has been diagnosed with a flexor pronator strain in his throwing elbow and has no timetable for a return to the rotation, but said "the floor" would be a month off. The injury did not appear to involve May's surgically reconstructed UCL, a source tells The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya.
May, 25, had surrendered a hit and struck out two batters on 16 pitches during his abbreviated outing. Despite those results, he had shown greatly diminished velocity on his pitches. Statcast had him averaging 94.7 mph on his sinker, a two full ticks below his season average. Additionally, his cutter was down 2.2 mph from his norm and all of his offerings had reduced spin rates.
May has already missed significant time in recent years. He underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2021 and was able to return to game action last August, when he ended up pitching six times down the stretch. (Tommy John surgery is often considered to include at least a 14-month recover these days, with some teams taking an even more conservative approach.)
May entered Wednesday's outing having tallied a 2.68 ERA (165 ERA+) and a 2.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 47 innings over his first eight starts.
The Dodgers, who are now 28-16 record on the season and in first place in the National League West, are already without several other key pitchers. Walker Buehler is hoping to make a September return following his own Tommy John surgery. Young starters Ryan Pepiot (strained oblique) and Michael Grove (strained groin) have both been sidelined since earlier this year. The Dodgers are also playing without several veteran relievers, including Blake Treinen and Daniel Hudson, among others.
