free agent right-hander Dustin May MassLive’s Christopher Smith said he’s “completely back to normal” and said his elbow feels great. May was placed on the injured list on September 9 with neuritis in his right elbow and did not participate in the remainder of the regular season or the wild-card series.
May split a 4.96 ERA between the Dodgers and Red Sox in 132 1/3 innings in 25 games (23 starts), along with a 21.1% strikeout rate and a 9.6% walk rate. As of July 31, he had made 19 appearances (18 starts) with the Dodgers, posting a 4.85 ERA in 104 innings, although his ground ball rate was slightly above average (43.8%). After he was traded to the Red Sox, his production declined. In six games with Boston (five starts), May posted a 5.40 ERA in 28 1/3 innings, with a slight increase in on-base percentage but a just 19.5% strikeout rate. His expected metrics, including a 6.26 xERA and 5.39 FIP post-trade, were in line with that performance.
Unfortunately, injuries have been a theme throughout May’s career. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021 and only started six games when he returned in 2022. He then started just nine games in 2023 due to a strained right forearm, although he did post a 2.63 ERA in 48 innings in those starts. The next year, he suffered an esophageal injury that required surgery, causing him to miss the entire season. His 132 1/3 innings in 2025 were actually a career high. Prior to that, May played 56 innings in 2020. While the esophageal tear obviously had nothing to do with baseball, it’s clear these injuries took a toll on May’s livelihood. He used the sinker 33.6% of the time in 2025 and was down to 94.5 mph in 2023 after running at 96.6 mph. His four-seamer and cutter velocity also saw a similar dip. While his sweeper pitches graded above average, all three of his fastballs were negative according to Statcast’s run value metric.
Still, May’s performance in the majors was enough to attract interest as a free agent this offseason. He has a 3.86 ERA, 46.6% ground ball rate, 21.9% strikeout rate, and 8.3% walk rate in 324 career innings. For teams in need of back-end depth, ground ball rate will be attractive, while strikeout and walk rates will also be useful. He’ll make $2.135MM in his final year of arbitration in 2025 and will commit the majority of his time next year at age 28.
Photos by Paul Rutherford, Imagn Images
