In the final minutes before the 2025 MLB trade deadline, the Boston Red Sox acquired right-handed pitcher Dustin May from the Los Angeles Dodgers. The price: outfielder/first baseman James Tibbs III and fellow outfield prospect Zach Ehrhard. May, who turns 28 in September, arrives with postseason experience and a long history of injury setbacks—but also with a much-needed healthy arm for a decimated Boston rotation.
On paper, the deal addresses a need. But for a fan base dreaming of Joe Ryan or another top-end starter, the reality didn’t quite live up to the hype.
Boston Adds Depth, Not Firepower
May brings intrigue, but also inconsistency. After missing all of 2024 following esophagus surgery—and undergoing Tommy John surgery twice—he’s made 18 starts and one relief appearance in 2025. The results have been mixed: a 6-7 record, a 4.85 ERA, and 97 strikeouts over 104 innings. He gave Red Sox fans a front-row view of his up-and-down season just last weekend, when he allowed four runs in five innings at Fenway Park in a loss to Boston.
His 113 career ERA+ shows there’s been above-average stuff in flashes. But this season’s 84 ERA+ suggests he’s still figuring out how to pitch deep into games after years of physical setbacks. The Dodgers, flush with rotation depth and awaiting the return of Blake Snell, made May expendable. For Boston, he was available—and that seemed to be the main appeal.
Still, the Red Sox needed arms. With Kutter Crawford, Hunter Dobbins, Patrick Sandoval, and likely Tanner Houck all done for the year, the rotation depth chart looked more like a triage unit than a playoff-ready staff. May joins Steven Matz as Boston’s key pitching additions, and both are likely to slot into the back end of the rotation.
Fans React: ‘Where’s the Big Move?’
As news of the May deal broke, Red Sox Twitter was still digesting a rollercoaster of deadline misinformation. A misread tweet from a national outlet had fans briefly convinced Boston had landed Joe Ryan from the Twins. Screenshots spread like wildfire. People celebrated. Then came the truth: Ryan wasn’t coming. Not even close.
The May trade wasn’t enough to erase that letdown.
“Somebody needs to be fired for this I’m sorry,” one fan tweeted after realizing Ryan was never really in play. Others vented their frustration that the front office’s “intensified efforts” never led to a splash. The Red Sox flipped Tibbs—just weeks after making him the centerpiece of the Devers-to-Giants blockbuster trade—for a back-end starter with a history of arm trouble.
That’s not to say May can’t contribute. The Red Sox are clinging to a Wild Card spot and desperately need innings. May’s experience and ability to miss bats—he’s struck out nearly one batter per inning this year—could stabilize things temporarily. But unless he rediscovers his pre-injury form, it’s hard to see this as more than a marginal upgrade.
The real frustration lies in what could’ve been. Boston had been linked to Merrill Kelly, MacKenzie Gore, and Joe Ryan. None arrived. And while Dustin May has name value and upside, his acquisition won’t quiet calls for a more aggressive front office.
Boston made moves. But fans didn’t want those moves. And if May fails to become a second-half hero, Red Sox fans will likely remember the 2025 deadline more for what the team failed to do than what it accomplished.
Red Sox Land Pitcher in Deadline Deal That Leaves Fans Wanting More