Dustin May finishes his 2021 campaign with a 1-1 record and a 2.74 ERA in five starts. Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Dodgers' Dustin May to undergo Tommy John surgery, out for season

By Zac Wassink | Last updated May 3, 2021 6:16 PM ET

The worst fears of the Los Angeles Dodgers and their fans have been realized on the first Monday of May.

Los Angeles confirmed on Monday that promising young pitcher Dustin May will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery to repair damage to his ulnar collateral ligament. Per Alden Gonzalez of ESPN, May is set to be sidelined anywhere between 12 and 16 months.

The 23-year-old suffered the injury pitching against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday and exited that game after only 27 pitches with pain in the elbow of his throwing arm. Some pitchers are able to avoid having an operation by resting a UCL injury for an amount of time, but that's not the case in May's situation.

May finishes his campaign with a 1-1 record and a 2.74 ERA in five starts. He finished the pandemic-shortened 2020 season fifth in National League Rookie of the Year voting.

The reigning World Series champions began Monday second in the NL West standings at 17-12, a half-game behind the San Francisco Giants (17-11).

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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