Dodgers pitcher Dustin May will not return to the team this season after undergoing esophageal surgery, the team announced Saturday.
According to a statement from the club, May was at dinner Wednesday night when he felt a “sudden pain” in his throat and stomach that didn’t dissipate once he got home.
After contacting medical staff, May went into surgery that night and is now “mending well,” according to a person with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly.
The procedure, however, will sideline May for the rest of this season, dashing the Dodgers’ hopes of getting the pitcher — who has been on the injured list all year following elbow surgery last July — back on the mound before the end of the year.
The surgery came as a shock development for the 26-year-old pitcher, who 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.
Instead, May’s esophagus surgery now serves as the latest unexpected blow to the Dodgers’ long-term pitching plans.
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.