Dodgers News: Roberts Challenges Dustin May to Prove He Deserves an NLDS Roster Spot
Dodgers pitcher Dustin May missed most of the season recovering from last year's Tommy John surgery, and then he missed the final two weeks because a balky back put him on the injured list.
May threw a simulated game at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, and he came out of it feeling good, as Bill Plunkett reports in the Orange County Register.
“It started off pretty rocky, but at the end it kind of went a little better,” May said, reviewing his two simulated innings. “Body is feeling really good. Back is feeling a lot better.
“I mean, I’m ready. I’m ready for whatever.”
Most notably, May says the back issue that forced him onto the IL is a thing of the past.
“It took probably six or seven days to get back to feeling kind of normal moving around,” May said. “It wasn’t slow but it wasn’t fast. Now I’m back to normal. Just got to get back in the swing.”
L.A. manager Dave Roberts isn't ready to just hand May a spot on the postseason roster, though. While May is immensely talented, his six starts this season were very hit-and-miss and didn't necessarily show the growth and progression they would have hoped to see. So it's not just about May being healthy — it's about him being ready to contribute to a World Series win.
“As far as Dustin … I thought the ball was coming out well. It was a good day. We’re off to a good start.” ...
When talking about May’s status for the postseason recently, Roberts said, “You still have to be good. Talent alone doesn’t get it done. So he’s still got to get healthy and show us that it makes sense.”
May will have at least one more sim game during the five-day break between now and the start of the NLDS, and Roberts will presumably be looking for evidence that he can trust May in a tight postseason game. If not, the Dodgers have a number of other options for that roster spot, and they could potentially hold May back until the NLCS to give him more time to refine his command.
