The Red Sox will slot Dustin May into their starting rotation after acquiring the 27-year-old righty from the Dodgers right before Thursday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline.
Boston plans to use 34-year-old lefty Steven Matz, who they acquired from the Cardinals on Wednesday night, as a late-inning reliever.
“In Dustin, feel like we’ve got a tried and true and battle tested starting pitcher coming from an organization that’s had a ton of postseason success and somebody who can step into our rotation and add to our pitching group,” chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said Thursday evening.
May has a 4.85 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 97 strikeouts and 43 walks in 19 outings (18 starts) this season. He missed 2024 due to a problem with his esophagus which required emergency surgery.
“I think ultimately what we see in Dustin is a guy who really limits hard contact, keeps the ball on the ground at a strong rate,” Breslow said. “I feel like that’s something that will play well here at our park. Is battle tested, has premium stuff and a bona fide starter that can take the ball for us every five days.”
May has limited hard contact in previous seasons. However, this season he’s in the 14th percentile in average exit velocity (90.8 mph) and 22nd percentile in hard hit percentage (44.2%) among major league pitchers.
He ranks in the 62nd percentile in ground ball percentage (44.6%).
Breslow had said leading up to the deadline he wanted to add “an impact starter” and “not just starting pitching that can take a spot in the rotation.” He wouldn’t say whether May — who has logged 14 postseason innings (all in 2019 and ‘20) — fits that description or where he slots into the rotation.
“I don’t know how much sense it makes to say exactly what he is,” Breslow said. “Ultimately what he does over the next two months and beyond is going to define his time here in Boston.”
Breslow didn’t rule out May starting Friday when the Red Sox need a starting pitcher. But Breslow also added it’s a “hefty ask” for someone who has to travel here quickly after just being traded.
May already has thrown 104 innings. His previous career-high was 56 innings in 2020.
“He feels good. The stuff has continued to trend in the right direction, so we’ll do everything we can to provide the recovery and resources and monitor workloads the same way we would anybody else,” Breslow said. “But don’t feel like there are kind of restrictions on usage here.”
Matz has posted a 3.44 ERA in 32 outings (55 innings) this year. He has a 5.40 ERA, allowing 17 earned runs in 28 ⅓ innings, in his last 21 outings dating back to May 14.
“He’s served multiple roles in the big leagues, but it seems like out of the pen the stuff has ticked up,” Breslow said. “He’s got a really good fastball that plays to both sides. He’s a great strike thrower. Has been in kind of pressure situations before, so we feel like he’s someone that Alex (manager Alex Cora) can call upon in the seventh, eighth, ninth inning and get really big outs for us. And if you kind of look at what he’s done out of the pen, he’s been really, really good.”
Matz has nine meltdowns compared to eight shutdowns this season. He has a Win Probability Added of -0.68.
Breslow said he wouldn’t close the door on Matz starting if the Red Sox need him there later this season.
“We’re obviously going to do whatever we need to do to try to win games down the stretch here and if that means getting him stretched out a little bit or taking on a little bit more of a bulk role, then we’ll explore it,” Breslow said.
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