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4 things to know about new Red Sox pitcher Dustin May
Prior to this season, May sported a 3.10 career ERA with the Dodgers.
The Red Sox made one move on Thursday ahead of MLB’s trade deadline, acquiring righty pitcher Dustin May from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for prospects James Tibbs III and Zach Ehrhard.
Tibbs was arguably the top prospect Boston acquired in the Rafael Devers trade to the Giants in June, batting .205 with a .589 OPS in 29 games for Double-A Portland at the time of Thursday’s trade.
With May, the Red Sox have acquired an intriguing arm to either slot into the back end of their rotation or potentially the bullpen. Still, there are concerns about the 27-year-old’s overall ceiling after an injury-plagued career.
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Here are four things to know about Boston’s new pitcher:
May has struggled this season with the Dodgers
The good news? May is in the midst of the healthiest season of his career, logging 19 games so far in 2025 and surpassing 100 innings for the first time in the big leagues. Prior to this year, the most innings he logged in a single season was 56.0 in 2020.
The bad news? May’s healthiest season with the Dodgers has also been his worst so far.
May, who will turn 28 in September, sports a 6-7 with a 4.85 ERA over 19 games (18 starts) this season. Over his 104 innings of work so far this year, May has struck out 97 batters while also walking 43.
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His final start in a Dodgers uniform was against the Red Sox at Fenway Park on July 27, with the L.A. starter allowing four runs over five innings in an eventual 4-3 Boston victory.
A starter for most of his career with the Dodgers, May was relegated to the bullpen in a multi-inning role after his last start against Boston by Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts.
Of the 82 pitchers with a minimum of 100 innings logged so far this season, May’s 4.85 ERA ranks 73rd overall — while his walk rate of 9.5 percent ranks 72nd in that pool of pitching talent.
A pending free agent, May is expected to slot in near the back end of Boston’s starting rotation behind the likes of Garrett Crochet, Lucas Giolito, and Brayan Bello.
May was once one of the top young starters in baseball
Had this trade been struck in say, 2023, Red Sox fans likely would be doing somersaults over their team acquiring one of the top young arms in the game.
Prior to undergoing Tommy John surgery in July 2023, May sported a career ERA of 3.10 with the Dodgers — even earning the Opening Day start for the Dodgers during the 2020 season with Clayton Kershaw sidelined due to injury.
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An imposing figure at 6-foot-6, May may not boast elite swing-and-miss stuff after several procedures, but his sinker and sweeper are a pair of pitches that — when utilized effectively — can induce plenty of ground balls and limit the damage doled out at the plate.
Although his workload across six seasons with the Dodgers weren’t exactly taxing due to injuries, May sported a sub-3.00 ERA in three of those six years in Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, all three of those campaigns were before May’s latest string of injury woes.
He’s dealt with multiple injuries on the mound
May is no stranger to the injury bug, with his promising career in Los Angeles dealt several blows to a variety of elbow ailments and other freak accidents.
May has already undergone two Tommy John surgeries in his career, first going under the knife for the major procedure in 2021 after logging just five starts with Los Angeles that year (2.74 ERA).
He returned in August 2022 from the procedure, pitching a total of six games for the Dodgers with a 2–3 record and 4.50 ERA that season before back tightness ended his season the following month.
May looked as though he regained his form in 2023, going 4-1 with a 2.63 ERA over nine starts. But, more elbow pain eventually prompted him to undergo another Tommy John revision surgery and correct his right flexor tendon in July 2023.
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“It felt amazing just to be back,” May told MLB.com during spring training about returning to the mound with the Dodgers amid his injury woes. “A huge, huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, it feels like — even if it wouldn’t have been a clean inning, just getting back in the dugout, feeling good, being here.
“It was really, really heavy. I’m alive. I’m glad I’m here. Just a huge excitement, like a breath of fresh air. Like a new beginning, kind of.”
May had a chance to return in the final stages of the 2024 season en route to another World Series title for the Dodgers, but an emergency surgical procedure stalled his rehab process and removed all doubt that he’d miss that entire season.
A salad forced May into emergency surgery
May’s hopes of returning in 2024 were dashed last summer when he suffered a torn esophagus while rehabbing back from his latest Tommy John procedure.
May told MLB.com that the incident began after a piece of salad was stuck in his throat, with May unable to clear the obstruction after drinking plenty of water.
“As soon as the water hit the salad in my throat, just full body-on-fire,” May said. “Rushed to the ER. Got a CAT scan. Drank some contrast fluid. Contrast fluid did not go to my stomach — [it] went in my chest.”
May said that he was later rushed into surgery in Phoenix that night around midnight, with the procedure to repair the tear in his esophagus completed around 7 a.m. He had to spend 11 days in the hospital while recovering from the ordeal.
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“[The salad] just got lodged in my throat a certain way. Instead of going down, it went out,” May said. “I would have been six feet under that night.”
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