Dodgers notes: Dustin May, Mookie Betts, Max Muncy

The Dodgers’ laundry list of players stricken with the injury bug continues to stockpile, with Clayton Kershaw becoming the newest member of the injured list. While certain players such as Kershaw, Noah Syndergaard, and Chris Taylor will return to the team after the All Star break, the team will be without their flame throwing right hander Dustin May for the remainder of the season and beyond.

Although initially given an estimated four to six weeks of time needed to recover, May’s prognosis didn’t capture the true severity of his flexor pronator strain. Ben Clemens at FanGraphs elaborates on the revised recovery time for May’s injury while comparing the recovery process to that of Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal, who was sidelined for over ten months before making his return on Tuesday:

“Flexor tendon surgery generally requires six to 10 months of recovery... That puts May on track to return to the majors next June, or perhaps earlier if his rehab goes well. That’s the optimistic case, though; the pessimist’s view is that repeated elbow injuries are the worst omen imaginable, and that May might need more time to return at all, and certainly to return in good form.”

This is another obstacle in May’s pursuit of a healthy season, as the 25-year-old has already undergone Tommy John surgery back in 2021 and has only made 15 starts since returning from the injured list last season.

Links

• Mookie Betts has established himself as one of the greatest power hitting leadoff hitters in baseball history, with his 45 leadoff home runs placing him eighth all time for career leadoff home runs. His recent uptick in leadoff round trippers is indicative of a growing trend league-wide for the amount of leadoff home runs hit in a single season since the Statcast Era began, reports Jay Jaffe of FanGraphs.
• Max Muncy’s season has been truly bizarre, as his 2023 season rivals that of Kyle Schwarber and Joey Gallo, essentially profiling a hitter that hits for low average, has a high on base percentage and mainly hits for power. J.P. Hoornstra of the Orange County Register writes about the many tweaks and adjustments that Muncy has made to his plate approach and his swing, and how Dave Roberts views the two time All Star amidst his recent struggles:

“Internally, the Dodgers believe there is more to Muncy’s hitting profile than a patient slugger who cannot hit for average. They’re still waiting for his statistics to bear that out. ‘There’s times when he chases slug,’ Manager Dave Roberts said of Muncy. ‘I know there’s a better hitter in there. I just don’t see a world in which he’s a .190 hitter.’”

• Levi Weaver and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic break down the recent injury struggles that both the Dodgers and Angels have dealt with over the past week, with both teams losing big names in the process in the latest edition of The Windup.