Prospect Dodgers stole from Red Sox in Dustin May trade is lighting it up

There's an argument to be made that at the trade deadline, Dustin May's value had been at its lowest point throughout his Los Angeles Dodgers tenure. Often injured with maladies ranging from a torn UCL to a near-deadly bout with a salad, a divorce between May and the Dodgers was going to happen one way or another with the 28-year-old set to hit free agency at the end of the season.

Frustration mounted on both sides. May was finally healthy, but failed to put together his past flashes, leading to a last-minute deadline trade to the Boston Red Sox, leaving the right-hander feeling "pushed out."

May's struggles and insistence on being a starter despite evidence that a bullpen role might have been the best thing for both him and the team made it seem like LA would be hard-pressed to get anything of value back for him in a trade. Now, though, one of the two outfield prospects the Dodgers received from the Red Sox is making it appear as if the Dodgers pulled off a significant heist.

James Tibbs III is looking like yet another Dodgers' robbery of the Red Sox

The Dodgers took full advantage of Boston's flush outfield. With prospects like Roman Anthony and Jhostynxon Garcia, alongside long-term pieces like Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, and Jarren Duran, the Red Sox didn't value outfielders James Tibbs III and Zach Ehrhard like a team without that type of depth might, allowing the Dodgers to scoop those two youngsters up in exchange for May.

Tibbs III was the real prize, ranking as the fifth-best prospect in Boston's farm system at the time of the trade, and since arriving at Double-A Tulsa he has shown that he could become a real gem.

Tibbs III went on a homer spree last weekend into the beginning of this week, going yard in three consecutive games from Sept. 6-9.

In 33 games since the trade, Tibbs III has shown an impressive combination of patience and power, posting a .254/.403/.443 line while running an eye-popping 18.1% walk rate and cracking six long-balls.

Perhaps the most embarrassing part for the Red Sox is that the 22-year-old outfield prospect had only been with their organization for about six weeks, coming over in mid-June as part of the Rafael Devers return package.

Swapping a promising bat for two months of Dustin May, who has gone on to post a 5.40 ERA with Boston, seems misguided. May got rocked to the tune of six earned runs over 5 1/3 innings by the pitiful Pittsburgh Pirates on August 30, and then left his next start with a forearm injury that has yet again landed him on the IL.

The jury is still out on what the future holds for Tibbs III, but the early returns are promising. If all goes as planned, this could go down as yet another example of the Dodgers stealing a stud from Boston.