The Los Angeles Dodgers transferred Dustin May to the 60-day injured list in order to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for the signing of Jimmy Nelson.
The move is mostly a paper transaction as May was not due to return until after the All-Star break due to still recovering from last year’s Tommy John surgery.
May won the competition during 2021 Spring Training to earn the fifth spot in the starting rotation on the Opening Day roster. He built on a successful debut season but suffered his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injury during a May 1 start against the Milwaukee Brewers.
That ended May’s season at just five starts and now has him going through the lengthy rehab process.
May went 1-1 with a 2.74 ERA, 3.30 FIP and 0.96 WHIP in 23 innings pitched across five starts last year. He improved in several areas, including increasing strikeouts per nine innings from 7.1 to 13.1, and lowering hits per nine from 7.2 to 6.3.
The right-hander played catch last November for the first time since the operation and has continued to progress with the recovery. While things are going well with the rehab, May also revealed there are still some struggles because of the amount of time being sidelined and initially limited in workouts.
Dodgers re-sign Jimmy Nelson
The Dodgers re-signed Nelson to a one-year contract with a team option for the 2023 season. Nelson had already been in camp at Camelback Ranch prior to his deal being made official on Thursday.
His return is identical to the contract the Dodgers signed Tommy Kahnle to in December 2020 as he was on the mend from Tommy John surgery. Nelson underwent Tommy John and a flexor tendon repair last August, and is expected to miss the entire 2022 season.
Nelson made the 2021 Dodgers Opening Day roster, but struggled to remain healthy. He was nevertheless was effective when on the mound, going 1-2 with a 1.86 ERA and 44 strikeouts over 28 games (one start).
The Dodgers will need to create another 40-man roster spot soon to make the signing of Freddie Freeman official.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
