Dodgers News: Dave Roberts Reacts to Dustin May's Back Injury

Dodgers skipper says May should be back in time for the start of the postseason

The Dodgers announced yesterday that they have placed Dodgers young right-hander Dustin May on the injured list with lower back tightness.

May will be put on the 15-day IL which puts him in a position to not pitch for the remainder of the regular season. However, the Dodgers remain optimistic that they caught the issue early and he will be available by the time the NLDS starts (October 11).

Manager Dave Roberts spoke with the media on Saturday and he says that this news came out of left field.

“Not ideal, not ideal. Not what we were planning on,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I thought we’d managed him well, and obviously with Dustin coming off Tommy John, the arm was the thing that we were very mindful of. So to have this setback – it’s where we’re at. We got to kind of deal with it and move on.”

Tommy John is one of the most serious injuries a pitcher can suffer from, so it’s no surprise that the staff was solely focused on May’s elbow.

With this news comes the uncertainty of his role during the postseason. Will he go back to a regular starter role, will he be piggybacked? Doc provides some more insight on what direction he’ll take once May becomes activated.

“I mean, I think that if you talk about the role, certainly, that’s sort of contingent on how long he’s going to be down,” Roberts said. “But I think it’s fair to say it has shortened it, as far as the length that he can give us. But if he’s healthy, then it’s still a weapon.”

How healthy will Dustin be when he returns and how serious is the severity of the injury?

Some clarity from Dave Roberts this morning on #Dodgers postseason pitching plans:

* Tyler Anderson will likely start postseason games

* The ceiling Tony Gonsolin will be able to get built up to is four innings

* If Dustin May is healthy, a bullpen role is a possibility

— Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) September 25, 2022

One thing is for sure, there are a lot of question marks regarding the Dodgers pitching staff going into October. That is the last place you want to be at your most vulnerable.

As things stand, it looks like LA will have some key arms coming back just in time for the postseason, but how ready and healthy will they be? 

It’ll only be a matter of time before we find out an answer to that question. The postseason starts in 16 days.