Red Sox Bolster Rotation with Dustin May
The Boston Red Sox have acquired pitcher Dustin May from the Los Angeles Dodgers, thus reinforcing their pitching staff. The news was confirmed on Thursday, marking a strategic move for the Boston team.
May, who will become a free agent, also has experience as a reliever, but has expressed his preference to remain a starter.
The right-hander, known for his slider and powerful sinker, as well as a fastball that exceeds 90 mph, returned this year from a long absence and helped stabilize the Dodgers’ rotation, which had been affected by injuries. In 19 games (18 as a starter), May recorded an ERA of 4.85. Over 104 innings, he struck out 97 batters and conceded 43 walks.
The Dodgers decided to do without May, given Tyler Glasnow’s good health, Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s solid performance, Shohei Ohtani’s adaptation as a starter, and Blake Snell’s expected return to the rotation this weekend. In addition, the team has Clayton Kershaw and Emmet Sheehan as options for the starting position.
The Dodgers’ general manager, Brandon Gomes, commented that they had “respectful conversations” with May, in which it was clear that being a starter was very important to him.
May was a key player on the Dodgers team that won the World Series in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. However, he only made 20 starts in the Major Leagues between 2021 and 2024. Last summer, May was recovering from flexor tendon surgery when he suffered an esophageal tear while chewing lettuce, which required life-saving surgery and ended his season prematurely.
In exchange for May, the Dodgers received outfielder James Tibbs III, the 13th overall pick from last year’s draft from Florida State. Tibbs, acquired by Boston from the San Francisco Giants in the Rafael Devers trade, has a batting average of .232/.359/.404 in Class A and Double-A this season.
The Dodgers also received Zach Ehrhard, another outfielder selected in the fourth round of the same draft, who has also been playing in Double-A.
