Dodgers’ Dustin May begins rehab assignment in Arizona

Fourteen months after undergoing Tommy John surgery, May began his minor-league injury-rehabilitation assignment by pitching two innings for the Dodgers' team in the Arizona Complex League.

Fourteen months after leaving the mound at American Family Field in Milwaukee with a torn ligament in his elbow, Dodgers right-hander Dustin May is pitching in games again.

May started the final phase in his recovery from Tommy John surgery by pitching two innings for the Dodgers’ team in the Arizona Complex League on Saturday. The 24-year-old right-hander didn’t allow a baserunner and struck out three in his first game action since the surgery.

May’s minor-league injury-rehabilitation assignment is expected to last at least a month as the Dodgers build him up slowly to return as a starting pitcher some time in August or September.

“He’s a starting pitcher in our mind,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said recently. “Now if we get to October and based on different factors, we might reconsider that. But coming back when he does, we view him as a starting pitcher and to the extent that we can continue to build him up without any setbacks then he’ll be built up like a starting pitcher. If we have any setbacks then maybe we’ll bring him back earlier in a different role. But our plan is to build him up, have him start for us and then evaluate as we go.”