When the Los Angeles Dodgers reported for the start of Spring Training last month, they figured to have no fewer than five candidates vying for the final spot in the Opening Day rotation.
But the group of Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, Jimmy Nelson, Ross Stripling and Alex Wood was pared down because of nagging injuries. May experienced soreness in his left side after a bullpen session, while Nelson was bothered by separate bouts of groin and lower back tightness.
Nelson overcame his minor issues but suffered a setback that led to being shut down. He since has resumed throwing again but faces the prospect of beginning the regular season as a relief pitcher.
After being unable to throw for multiple weeks, May has now begun to play catch, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
Dustin May has resumed playing catch.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) March 5, 2020
May played catch out to 120 feet last week but still felt some discomfort and at that point was shut down for the time being. Considering the several days of inactivity, he doesn’t figure to be with the Dodgers come Opening Day of the 2020 season.
Particularly since manager Dave Roberts made it clear the Dodgers were not keen on having May start the season with them in the bullpen. “Anything can happen, things can change, but obviously we view him as a starter,” Roberts recently said.
“We’re going to continue to build him up as a starter. I just don’t see it making a whole lot of sense, as a young player, to put him in the ‘pen out of camp. We understand he’s done some really good things for us. We’re just encouraging Dustin to control what he can control.
“Right now it’s get healthy, get on the mound and build up that pitch count.”
Although May figures to begin the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City — or perhaps in extended Spring Training — he’s likely to play a key role at the Major League level at some point in 2020.
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