Dodgers: Dustin May continues recovery at spring training complex – Inside the Dodgers

The 2021 season has started with high hopes in Los Angeles. The Dodgers’ starting rotation was ranked first in the league and fans were eager to see the new acquisitions and rising stars in action. But everything changed in May.

When Dustin May suffered an elbow injury early in the season, many were hoping it wouldn’t be too bad considering the way the right-hander takes care of him. Sadly, that wasn’t the case and the hard-throw right-hander had to undergo Tommy John-style surgery and was lost for the season.

May recently posted a video of him pitching for the first time since his surgery, and then the Los Angeles Dodgers decided to share on their YouTube channel a video of May’s rehabilitation and build-up at Camelback Ranch in Arizona. All of this, naturally, got the fans a little bit excited.

In the video, Dustin describes a typical day in his life as well as his first feelings after being injured in May.

When it comes time to injure myself, I don’t really know how to react because I’ve never been in this situation before. It never really sank until I went into surgery. For example, I’m going to be away for a while and I’m going to pretty much relearn how to cast in six months.

Now, six months later, May throws a baseball again and looks forward to 2022, hoping for a mid-season return.

The first day, I felt it like a forbidden fruit. Like you weren’t supposed to do this right now because I had been told for so long “don’t do this, don’t do this”, so being able to do it for the first time was really foreign . But after the first few pitches, it was like riding a bike.

The usual time to recover from Tommy John surgery, assuming everything is going well, is approximately 12 to 14 months. May mentioned 14-15 months, which tells us the Dodgers are smart and don’t rush the talented 24-year-old into the starting rotation until he’s fully recovered. So while a return in July, at the earliest, is possible, a return in August or even September could be more than likely.

While the Dodgers will be without Dustin for the start of the season, having such a quality arm for the second half, and a possible post-season run, will be a huge not-so-secret weapon and we can’t wait.