DETROIT —
Dodgers pitcher Dustin May will not return to the team this season after undergoing esophageal surgery, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.
The surgery, first reported by ESPN, came as a shock development for the 26-year-old pitcher, who had yet to pitch for the Dodgers this season after undergoing elbow surgery last year.
The Dodgers had been hoping to get May back before the end of the season. He had been throwing bullpen sessions at the club’s complex in Arizona since May.
As recently as late June, manager Dave Roberts had called the right-hander’s progress “promising” — seemingly making him a potential late-season addition for a Dodgers pitching staff that has dealt with myriad other injuries this season.
However, May tore his esophagus — the muscular tube that passes food from the throat to the stomach — in a non-baseball setting, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. While at dinner recently, May felt a “sudden pain,” the person said, leading to the surgery this week.
A third-round draft pick in 2016, May has been an impact pitcher for the Dodgers when healthy, owning a career 3.10 ERA in five big-league seasons.
But injuries — including a 2021 Tommy John surgery, and last year’s flexor tendon procedure — have repeatedly derailed the flame-thrower’s time in the majors, limiting him to just 20 starts since 2021.