The Dodgers avoided arbitration with two pitchers on Friday and agreed to contracts for next season with right-handers Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin, both of whom will return to the mound after missing all of last season due to injuries.
May settled with the Dodgers for $2.135 million and Gonsolin for $5.4 million, according to people with knowledge of the situation who are not authorized to speak publicly.
The Dodgers also offered relief pitcher Brent Honeywell Jr. on Friday. and Zach Logue, making them free agents and freeing up two spots on the club’s 40-man roster.
The moves came ahead of Friday’s deadline for teams to offer contracts to pre-arbitration and arbitration-eligible players.
May, 27, has a 3.10 average in 46 appearances but has yet to fulfill his promise as a top prospect due to injury issues. Since the start of 2021, May has made just 20 starts. In May 2021, he underwent Tommy John surgery. After returning in late 2022, his 2023 season was cut short by another elbow surgery, this time to repair his flexor tendon. After May hoped to return last season, he had to undergo esophageal surgery in July, sidelining him for the rest of the year.
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Despite that, the Dodgers still view May as a potential impact player in his final season under team control before free agency, hoping he’ll still have a lot of his old bad stuff.
Gonsolin, 30, is in a similar situation. After his breakout 2022 All-Star campaign was derailed by a season-ending arm injury, Gonsolin struggled in 2023 before undergoing Tommy John surgery in August. At the end of last season, he was almost back, including completing a minor league rehab assignment. But the Dodgers didn’t put him on their postseason roster and decided not to rush him back.
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Both Gonsolin, who won’t be a free agent until after the 2026 season, and May are expected to be ready for Opening Day.
The Dodgers have six other players still eligible for arbitration: Evan Phillips (who will receive an estimated $6.2 million per MLB Trade Rumors), Michael Kopech ($5.2 million), Brusdar Graterol ($2.7 million), Gavin Lux ($2.7 million), Alex Vesia ($1.9 million) and Anthony Banda ($1.1 million).
Another arbitration-eligible player, reliever Connor Brogdon, was sent straight to triple-A Oklahoma City last week.
Honeywell was non-tendered on Friday after playing a remarkable – and, for both the team and fans, highly regarded – innings-eating role in the postseason; including a 4⅔ inning performance in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series that saved the rest of the bullpen prior to the Dodgers’ pennant victory in Game 6. He also had a 2.63 ERA in 20 regular-season games.
Logue was a late-season pick-up who made just two appearances with the Dodgers. The team’s 40-man roster now has four open spots for the remainder of the offseason.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
