Almost two years removed from the second major elbow surgery of his career, Dustin May does not lack confidence.
“I feel really good,” said the Dodgers’ 27-year-old right-hander. “When my stuff is in the zone, it’s just as good as anybody’s in the league.”
What May doesn’t have, however, with under a week remaining in the Dodgers’ abbreviated spring camp, is clarity on exactly what his role will be when the regular season begins.
“Everything should be on the table,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s obviously thinking about … being the best version of himself. But I do think as an organization, it should all be on the table.”
When it comes to May, and the larger construction of their opening-day pitching staff, there are no shortage of options for the Dodgers to consider.
Since the start of spring, he and Tony Gonsolin — who both missed all of last season recovering from elbow surgeries — have been the top contenders for the fifth and final spot in the team’s season-opening rotation.
Gonsolin had looked sharp this spring, pitching three scoreless innings in two Cactus League games along with a backfield scrimmage outing this week. He also has the advantage of having already completed a minor league rehab assignment at the end of last year, when he made three starts with the organization’s triple-A Oklahoma City affiliate and was available (though not used) during the Dodgers’ postseason run.
May, on the other hand, is still “on the comeback trail,” Roberts said. His last appearance in any sort of regular-season action came on May 17, 2023, when he suffered an elbow injury that led to a flexor tendon and Tommy John revision surgery later that year. He has made just 15 appearances in the big leagues since undergoing an initial Tommy John procedure in 2021, coming close to a return to the majors last summer before a life-threatening esophagus tear ended his season.
Despite those repeated setbacks, May’s stuff hasn’t looked overly diminished.
This spring, his fastball has touched 97 mph and averaged 95-96 mph, marking a slight drop from where he was in 2023 — when he said he was still dealing with lingering discomfort from his first Tommy John. But his big-bending slider has actually looked “better than it was prior,” according to Roberts, accounting for two of May’s three strikeouts in a scoreless three-inning Cactus League start against the Texas Rangers on Thursday.
“Being able to land that is probably going to be my biggest thing for the whole year,” May said. “If I can land that, it opens up doors for every other pitch that I have.”
Which door the Dodgers pick for the start of May’s season, nonetheless, remains unclear.
Roberts has said May is still in competition with Gonsolin for the final rotation spot. But, the manager has also left open the possibility of May beginning the season either in the bullpen (where he could be either a multi-inning option or late-game weapon given his premium stuff) or on a minor league rehab assignment (something the Dodgers did with Walker Buehler last year to help him build up during his return from a second Tommy John surgery).
“There’s just a lot of different variables,” Roberts said. “Obviously there’s only one spot as far as that fifth spot. But I think [Gonsolin and May] are both having really good springs.”
Outside of the rotation, there are few unanswered questions about the Dodgers’ opening-day roster.
Most of their lineup is set, with only openings at second base and center field remaining unsettled. Tommy Edman will likely play every day at one of the spots, leaving the other open for potential platoon roles for Andy Pages, Kiké Hernández and Miguel Rojas, among others — assuming South Korean signing Hyeseong Kim begins the season in the minors to continue adapting his swing to tougher North American competition.
There are also openings to fill in the back of a bullpen that will be without Evan Phillips and Michael Kopech to begin the season. Ben Casparius is one pitcher with an inside track to earn an opening-day spot, Roberts said, likely as another multi-inning relief option.
The rotation, on the other hand, figures to be an evolving unit throughout the season.
The team is only planning to pitch Japanese starters Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki roughly once per week, which could create openings for spot starts (or potential bullpen games) on a regular basis. Eventually, the team will use a six-man starting staff once Shohei Ohtani makes his return to two-way duties, though his timeline to do so remains unclear after the team decided to “slow-play” his throwing program over the last week.
In the interim, May isn’t the only starter with MLB experience unsure of where they will fit in. Landon Knack had a strong rookie season last year, but appears to be further down the depth chart with a 6.23 ERA this spring. Bobby Miller entered camp hoping to bounce back from his disappointing (and injury-plagued) 2024 campaign, but has fallen somewhat behind schedule after taking a comebacker off his head on Feb. 20.
Those developments have left Gonsolin and May (who has a 5.40 ERA in three spring starts, and has battled shaky command at times) as the two most logical candidates for that last rotation spot.
And as the team works toward a final decision ahead of its season-opening trip to Japan next week, and opener at Dodger Stadium later this month, it is keeping all its options with May open.
“I would like to think so,” May said when asked if he felt he still was in contention for the No. 5 rotation spot, reiterating his preference is to begin the season as a major league starter. “But I just need to log innings. I mean, I haven’t been able to pitch in basically four years. So I just need to go out and pitch.”
