Dustin May’s New Beginning with the Boston Red Sox at 2025 Trade Deadline
Well, Dodgers fans, it finally happened. The infamous flowing red locks of Dustin May are packing their bags and heading to Boston. If you’re a Red Sox fan, you might be raising a glass to this last-minute 2025 trade deadline acquisition. If you’re in Los Angeles, well, this move might leave you tilting your head like a baffled puppy. But hey, baseball is nothing if not unpredictable, and May’s departure adds another twist to two franchises perpetually vying for headlines.
Dustin May Struggles to Find His Groove in L.A.
It’s no secret Dustin May hasn’t exactly been living up to the Thor-like hype that those luscious red locks and his 2019 debut created. After battling his way back from Tommy John surgery (because, of course, MLB pitchers are contractually obligated to endure at least one elbow blowout in their careers), May has had a tough 2025 season. His 4.85 ERA across 18 starts and one relief appearance isn’t what you’d write home about. Combine that with a 12% strikeout-minus-walk rate (ranking him 52nd among pitchers with 100 or more innings), and it starts to feel like the Dodgers weren’t seeing much upside in keeping him around.
Sure, he had glimpses of excellence this year, but he’s been wildly inconsistent. A decent start to the season gave way to a woeful 5.57 ERA stretch, leaving May the odd man out as L.A.’s rotation began to stabilize with the return of Blake Snell and the emergence of other arms like Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow (because the Dodgers’ pipeline of absurd pitching depth never seems to dry up).
The Boston Red Sox Are Betting on Potential
Enter the Red Sox, a team in need of pitching like a kid needs dessert at Thanksgiving. May may (pun absolutely intended) not be the ace Boston dreams about, but this front office move reeks of a calculated risk. After all, Boston needs warm bodies in its rotation to even think about holding onto their AL wildcard spot. Steven Matz’s recent addition adds only so much heft to their pitching corps, and now they’re hoping May can at least stabilize the back end of their rotation.
What’s Boston really betting on? Well, maybe it’s the high-spin sinkers or flashes of brilliance that May displayed before injuries threw his career off track. At just 27, he has time on his side to bounce back. But with free agency looming after the season, you have to wonder if Boston will get much of a return on their investment. He’s owed just under $700k for the rest of 2025, which makes this gamble financially acceptable, even if it’s high-risk baseball-wise.
What the Dodgers Get in Return
The Red Sox had to pay a price, and that price came in the form of James Tibbs III, the 2024 first-round pick who has moved around organizations this year more than a vintage T206 Honus Wagner card at auction. The Dodgers acquire the 22-year-old, who’s still figuring things out offensively. Tibbs boasts a respectable .246/.379/.478 line at High-A but struggled after a promotion to Double-A, hitting just .205 in 29 games. Is he MLB-ready? Probably not. But LAD has plenty of development resources to build him into someone meaningful down the line.
For a team like the Dodgers, who has an ironclad farm system, Tibbs is a calculated long-term chip. For May, it’s a clear-as-day signal that his window in L.A. was rapidly closing.
The Verdict
Look, the jury’s out on whether May can make good on all that early career promise. For Boston, the move makes practical sense as they push to stay in contention. For L.A., it’s a shrug of a trade for a pitcher whose leash likely ran out when every Dodgers starter not named “Gonsolin” began coming off the IL.
If May thrives in Boston, this trade will sting in a “why didn’t this happen for us?” kind of way. If he doesn’t? Well, chalk it up as an organizational win for a Dodgers team dripping with depth. Boston will hope May can thrive with a change of scenery. Because if he doesn’t, don’t expect Red Sox fans to show any patience. They don’t exactly do “grace periods” in Beantown.
Final Thoughts and What’s Next
At the end of the day, May’s move signals changing tides for both franchises. The Red Sox are officially loading up for a wildcard run, while the Dodgers are once again demonstrating they don’t dwell too long on players who aren’t producing. For Dustin May, the clock is ticking. Will the Fenway Faithful be grinning through his curveballs come October? Or will this be another what-could’ve-been chapter in his turbulent MLB career?
Stay tuned, folks. Nothing burns hotter than a pitcher trying to prove he’s still got it.
