Red Sox trade for Dustin May from Dodgers, snapping drought right before deadline

Billy Heyen

Red Sox trade for Dustin May from Dodgers, snapping drought right before deadline image

The Boston Red Sox hadn't done anything.

But then, with 10 minutes until the deadline, there came the post from ESPN's Jeff Passan:

Dustin May from the Dodgers to the Red Sox in a buzzer-beating trade.

It's a potentially huge pickup for Boston, even though May has never quite lived up to his hype.

The 6-foot-6 red-headed right-hander was a huge prospect. He has battled injuries and inconsistency in the majors.

Overall, May has an 18-16 MLB record with a 3.71 ERA.

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This season, though, May is 6-7 with a 4.85 ERA.

May missed the entire 2024 season with injury, which was painful after he had a 2.63 ERA in 2023.

This season, May has 97 strikeouts in 104 innings, so the stuff is still good.

He throws a really hard, sinking fastball that should be effective in any role.

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May has spent a bit of time in his big league career in a relief role, too, so it's not a guarantee he has to be a starter.

He's stretched out to work big innings, but as the postseason approaches, Boston will have a chance to figure out what the best usage for May is.

Red Sox fans are just relieved that they've done something. It looked like they might be shut out before the deadline, but instead they ended up with May.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle