Dodgers GM peels back curtain with how Dustin May-Red Sox trade went down

At one point early in his career, it looked like Dustin May was going to be the next great Dodgers ace. While injuries never allowed for his career to take off the way people expected, he still contributed to the team’s postseason run in 2020 and finished his Dodgers career with three separate seasons with an ERA under 3.00.

But, in the end, that still wasn’t enough to save him this year, as the Dodgers elected to trade May to the Red Sox at the trade deadline buzzer. According to General Manager Brandon Gomes, the trade occurred in part due to fluctuations in the market throughout the day. 

Dodgers GM peels back curtain with how Dustin May-Red Sox trade went down

While the Dodgers went into Thursday’s trade deadline planning on being big buyers, things changed once the Padres gave up Leo De Vries as part of their package to get Mason Miller from the Athletics. 

That, coupled with the team getting Blake Snell and Max Muncy back soon, led to a pivot that ultimately resulted in May heading to Boston. 

“We feel really good about this group. Coming into the year, we felt like this was as talented of a roster as we’ve ever had,” Gomes said, per the Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett. “We’re in a position where we’re in first place, and I don’t even think we’ve played our best baseball yet. So as we continue to get some of our starters back, and then adding these pieces, and our guys just kind of playing up to their potential, we feel like it’s still a really, really strong team, and we don’t feel any differently about our aspirations than we did at the beginning of the year.”

May started the season in the rotation and pitched well at the start of the year, but his spot became expendable as the Dodgers’ rotation got healthier. It also didn’t help that he has a 4.85 ERA and has already thrown a career-high 104 innings, and, according to Gomes, had his heart set on starting. 

“We had a lot of really respectful conversations with D-May, and he’s been a huge part of the organization for a long time,” Gomes said, per Plunkett. “Through those conversations, it was apparent that starting was very important to him. And while we felt like he could have been a contributor out of the bullpen and an impact-type piece, trying to understand the mindset and his desire to continue to start, we took that into consideration.”

All but one of May’s appearances this year were starts. His long relief appearance came on July 21 when he pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings of long relief. 

He’ll now join a Boston rotation that has an ace in Garrett Crochet and a solid No. 2 Brayan Bello, but has also been hurt by inconsistent play from Lucas Gilito and old friend Walker Buehler. 

Although the trade of May was a bit of a disappointing end to his tenure with the Dodgers, it was part of a trade deadline that was largely a win for the Dodgers, thanks to a number of shrewd acquisitions.