Dodgers Team News

Dodgers Sign Dustin May to New Contract for 2025 Season

The Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to a one-year contract with starting pitcher Dustin May ahead of Friday’s tender deadline. The right-hander has been sidelined by injuries since May 2023.

May’s one-year deal is worth $2,135,000. May was a member of the Dodgers’ 2020 World Series championship team, but has only started in 20 games since the shortened season.

In May 2021, the right-hander had Tommy John surgery. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said May felt a shooting sensation after throwing a curveball during a start against the Milwaukee Brewers.

After a long rehab process, May returned to the Dodgers on Aug. 20, 2022. In a start against the Minnesota Twins in May 2023, the right-hander once again made his departure because of an injury.

May underwent his second Tommy John surgery in July 2023. He was then expected to return to the Dodgers in the second-half of the 2024 season, but then needed surgery to repair a tear in his esophagus in July.

The last few years have been filled with injuries for May, but he is expected to be apart of the Dodgers’ starting rotation in 2025. May would join Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tony Gonsolin in the rotation.

Tyler Glasnow is also expected to return to the rotation while Shohei Ohtani is expected to make his two-debut in 2025. Additionally, the Dodgers announced the team would use a six-man rotation this season so there are a few slots that remain vacant.

May is 12-9 with a 3.10 ERA in 34 starts and 12 relief appearances over five seasons with the Dodgers. The right-hander will be eligible for free agency following the 2025 Fall Classic, which means this season is a crucial year for May.

Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

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Valentina Martinez

Valentina Martinez is a bilingual sports reporter. She is a Los Angeles native and a life long Dodgers fan. Valentina graduated from Arizona State University with bachelor's degrees in Sports Journalism and Spanish.

8 Comments

  1. Good to see him coming back, he’s shown a lot of WOW factor when he was pitching. And from a distance here, he seems like a good guy too! I call him “Big Red” like a guy who used to work for me.

    Now I know it’s all over MLB, not just the Dodgers, but has anyone considered that the coaching staff might be much at blame for all the arm injuries?

    “Coaching staff says, hey kid, we can teach you how to throw 100MPH.” Couple of years later when they’ve finally made the majors they light it up and do throw 100. 3 months later they need TJ surgery having torn their elbow apart.

    Anyone else see what I see?

    1. I have definitely thought about that. I think going forward 2025 and beyond the pitching coaches will be focused more on location and deceptivness more so than speed. That dynamic changes again if they get Roki Sasaki and his 102.3 MPH fastball!

    2. The kind of pitches being thrown today is a major factor, no doubt, But it is not just a problem with the Ds, that is a problem everywhere. And it is not going to change, as hitters are more scientifically tuned than in the past. IMHO, the compounding factor, which can be changed, is the number of pitches and innings thrown per game. As these throws wear out the muscles, the tendons take up the slack and get overused and injured. Pitchers are throwing fewer innings than in the past, but I think it should be even fewer. We should keep more than 6 starters in the rotation and use them more as long relievers pitching fewer innings.

    3. I agree with you about the staff being suspect and I will raise it one more by saying that Smith is the common denominator also. Since Bauer left and the sticky stuff was banned there has been an increase in injuries. The Grip It and Rip stile they taught has got to go. 90 mph curves are unrealistic. Also I don’t think the pitchers should try to show each other new types of grips on the ball. That lead to injuries too. One more thing, May isn’t that tough, he looks inbred or something. Snell is a weird one too.

  2. In my opinion a pitcher who has deception and a wide variance of speed 75 to 95 can be as effective and last much longer than a 100+ fireballer .

  3. Dustin was the next Jacob DeGrom; in my opinion. His pitches (especially that one foot plus horizontal breaking pitch) were just plain nasty. When you apply proper torque to a bolt (say 100NM); the bolt actually is at the point of stretching. Too much torque above the bolt’s strength and the bolt will break. If you look at the broken bolt (particularly heat-treated ones) you will see the stretch marks. Dustin applies a lot of torque on his elbow, shoulder, and forearm to make the pitches break like they do. Like other comments say, lower the innings, spread out the starts. Or turn Dustin into a setup man. Or an opener for two innings. But set him down for a couple games after each appearance. IF he starts, put him on a strict pitch-count in that six-man setup. Five innings or 85 pitches.

    1. I have no good reason to think this but I believe guys are having pitching injuries due to lack of throwing enough. Nolan Ryan said he felt stronger the more he pitched. This max velocity for 25 pitches is not sustainable. You don’t have to throw 100 to be successful. If anything they should forget sliders , that’s the pitch that’s killed pitchers. A curve 10 to 12 mph slower than the fastball is just as effective.

  4. Look at the Dodgers! Dave Roberts refused to let his guys pitch and they all ended up on the IR! The Dodgers seemed to have lead MLB in pitching injuries over the last several years while trying to protect the pitchers! Let the starters get built up and then let them pitch. The best pitchers in recent history have had large workloads and have practically been injury free. Look for the Dodgers plan for a six man rotation to fail due to the pitchers not getting built up and durable!

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