Dodgers’ May out for season after esophageal surgery

DETROIT — Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Dustin May will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn esophagus this week, the team announced Saturday.

The Dodgers said May experienced “sudden pain” in his esophagus and stomach while at dinner Wednesday. The pain continued after he returned home, so he contacted the team’s medical staff.

May, 26, had been rehabbing after undergoing surgery last July to repair his flexor tendon and revise the Tommy John surgery he’d received on his right elbow in 2021. He had progressed to the point where he was throwing bullpens, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said last month, and was expected to be among the arms the club had available in the second half of the season.

May was preparing to begin a rehab assignment as soon as the end of July, the source said.

The procedure will keep May from physical activity for six to eight weeks, per the source. It will prevent May — who has totaled 20 starts since the start of 2021 — from being a potential cog for a pitching staff in dire need of reinforcement.

No team in baseball has more pitchers on the injured list (12), with Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw all out with injuries. Bobby Miller, a promising rookie last summer, has missed time with a shoulder injury and was optioned this week after starting the season with an 8.07 ERA.

Injuries have cost May a chance at the ascent that his triple-digit velocity seemed to promise when the red-headed flamethrower broke through in 2019.

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