Red Sox couldn't close deals for real impact players, settling for starter Dustin May and reliever Steven Matz

Boston Globe

3 days ago

'It felt like we needed to do what we could to try to bolster the team,' the chief baseball officer said. 'I've been pretty outspoken about that. We pursued as much as we possibly could . . . Obviously, not all of them work out. But it wasn't from a lack of trying to be as aggressive as possible [or] from an unwillingness to get uncomfortable. But ultimately, it takes two teams lining up for those trades to line up.
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'I don't think this was about an unwillingness to include guys or anything like that. Teams have to like our players in order for that to happen. We went into this deadline feeling like in order to accomplish what we need to accomplish — what we hope to accomplish — we couldn't take some of our young minor-league players off the table. We couldn't go into this with untouchables. And we didn't.'
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The Red Sox were linked in various reports to Minnesota All-Star starter Joe Ryan, who would have been a strong No. 2 behind ace Garrett Crochet; Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez, who would have moved to first base; and at least a pair of other starters, the Padres' Dylan Cease and the Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly.
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Ryan and Cease were not being traded at all. Suarez went to the Mariners, Kelly to the Rangers — two of the Red Sox' American League wild-card competitors.
'It wasn't from a lack of effort,' Breslow said. 'Teams needed to say, 'Hey, that's enough or that crosses the line [into a done deal].' '
May, 27, and Matz, 34, are due to reach free agency after this season.
With the Dodgers this season, May owned a 4.85 ERA and 1.35 WHIP in 104 innings, more than he totaled over his previous four injury-plagued seasons.
May was second on the Dodgers in starts (18) and innings (104) but was getting squeezed out of the rotation as others returned to health. Tyler Glasnow came back on Tuesday, and Blake Snell is set to do so Saturday. With Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw, Shohei Ohtani, and Emmet Sheehan also on the roster, Los Angeles deemed May expendable.
Breslow described May as 'a tried and true and battle-tested starting pitcher, coming from an organization that has had a ton of postseason success.' The Dodgers have been a perennial postseason presence through May's career, but he has pitched just 14 innings across nine games in October — and none since 2020.
The Sox did not have a No. 5 starter on the roster — and haven't named a starter for Friday against the Astros — so May represents an upgrade over in-house options. They recently demoted Richard Fitts to Triple A Worcester and have had injuries ravage the depth chart.
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'What we see in Dustin is a guy who really limits hard contact, who keeps the ball on the ground at a strong rate,' Breslow said. 'We feel like that's something that will play well here at our park. He's battle tested, has premium stuff, a bona fide starter that can take the ball for us every five days.'
The Sox view Matz as a late-innings option out of the bullpen, according to Breslow.
With St. Louis, Matz had a 3.44 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 32 appearances (two starts), frequently covering more than an inning. He handled some high-leverage duties, picking up seven holds.
'If you look at what he's done out of the 'pen, he's been really, really good,' Breslow said.
Headed to the Dodgers for May: corner outfielder/first baseman James Tibbs III, who was one of the players acquired from the Giants for Rafael Devers in June, plus outfielder Zach Ehrhard.
Tibbs, 22, had gotten off to a slow start with Double-A Portland, batting .207/.319/.267 while playing mostly right field with some left, first base, and DH.
Ehrhard, also 22, was the Sox' 13th-round draft pick in 2021 and fourth-rounder in 2024. He had spent most of the season with Portland, posting a .227/.305/.412 slash line.
With the Sox, Tibbs and Ehrhard were blocked in the outfield, by both the group of high-quality options in the majors in addition to the likes of Jhostynxon Garcia with Triple-A Worcester.
The cost for Matz was corner infielder Blaze Jordan, who was having a strong year in the upper minors and now is reunited with Cardinals executive Chaim Bloom, who ran the Red Sox when they drafted him in 2020.
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The Red Sox did not improve the front of their rotation or lineup.
'I understand the frustration and the disappointment [from fans] because we're all looking at the last week right now in terms of the trades that were made and weren't made,' Breslow said. 'There's not a lot of sympathy for how hard we tried to get deals across the line. I understand that. We believe we have a really young, exciting, talented team, and one that is capable of continuing to perform at this level and make it to the postseason.'
Many of the teams the Red Sox are trying to beat in the AL — particularly the Yankees, Mariners, Rangers, and perhaps even the Royals in the wild-card standings — were more active.
'We can't ignore what other teams are doing,' Breslow said. 'At the same time, our focus today was identifying and pursuing players who we felt like were good fits for our team. And ultimately, we're all going to be defined by what happens tomorrow through the last game of the season and potentially the playoffs.
'It's really easy to sit here today and evaluate the trades that were made and how much better we think teams got on paper. Ultimately, those questions are going to be answered for us.'
Tim Healey can be reached at