Dustin

May

May finally pitched over 60 innings in a season, throwing 132 1/3 innings for the Dodgers and Red Sox. However, he struggled, posting a 4.96 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, and 123/56 K/BB ratio. He has never quite delivered on his intriguing pitch shapes, but he would likely get another shot in the rotation if he landed with the White Sox.

The 28-year-old hurler finished the season on the injured list due to right elbow neuritis, though he would have been ready to pitch had the Red Sox advanced to the ALDS. May struggled in six appearances with the Red Sox after a deadline deal from the Dodgers, posting a 5.40 ERA, 1.69 WHIP and a 26/13 K/BB ratio across 28 1/3 innings. It’ll be fascinating to see how his market develops this winter, as May wind up being a fallback option for teams that aren’t able to acquire the upper echelon starting pitching options that they covet.

It’s unclear how much time May will miss, but the 28-year-old figures to be sidelined until the closing moments of the regular season. The 28-year-old righty has struggled to a bloated 5.40 ERA across 28 1/3 innings in six appearances (five starts) since coming over from the Dodgers at the trade deadline.

No word yet on what the injury is, but May had been set to start Tuesday’s game against the Athletics. It will now be Connelly Early making his MLB debut instead. May has thrown 132 1/3 innings this season, which is far and away the most of his career. His previous high was 56 innings back in 2020. The Red Sox had initially moved May into the bullpen a couple of weeks ago, but repeated injuries to their pitching staff have impacted their plans for his usage. They’re likely hoping this is not a long-term injury but just an opportunity to give him some rest.

Early was initially a candidate to start Wednesday’s game, but with Dustin May heading to the IL, the Red Sox needed a starter on Tuesday and will bring him up. The 23-year-old has taken a big step forward this season thanks to increased velocity on his fastball and an improving sweeper. He has a 2.60 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 132/40 K/BB ratio across 100 1/3 innings at Double-A and Triple-A this season, but is a risky start in a hitter-friendly park in Sacramento.

Well then. Speier reports that Brennan Bernardino is expected to open with Dustin May working in bulk. The expectation was Harrison would make his debut with Boston on Wednesday, but for whatever reason(s), it appears he’ll have to wait at least another couple of days. Weird.

May allowed an unearned run to score in the first inning on an error, base hit, and a groundout. After three scoreless innings, things unraveled in the fifth as he loaded the bases with no outs before the Pirates brought three runs in to score. Oneil Cruz added a run with a leadoff homer in the sixth. May would leave two runners on with one out in the inning, with both inherited runners eventually coming in to score. The 27-year-old right-hander ends the day with a 5.01 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, and a 122/54 K/BB ratio across 129 1/3 innings. He’s tentatively lined up to face the Diamondbacks in Arizona on Friday.

That means the Red Sox will need a starter for Friday. Manager Alex Cora said “everybody is in the mix” and Thursday’s game will dictate who starts. If Garrett Crochet can pitch deep into the game on Thursday, then the Red Sox could potentially use guys like Steven Matz or Brennan Bernardino in bulk on Friday. Otherwise, the team could potentially call up either Kyle Harrison or Peyton Tolle, who are the more exciting options.

There’s a lot going on with Boston’s rotation mix at the moment. The only certainty is that May will take the ball at some point on Friday or Saturday in the series. Top prospect Payton Tolle is making a bulk relief appearance on Friday for Triple-A Worcester with some combination of Kyle Harrison or Richard Fitts (biceps) in play to handle the other contest. It’s nearly impossible to speculate how the Red Sox are going to handle this quagmire with so many moving parts.

May also issued three walks on the evening while striking out three. Nearly all of the damage done against him came via the long ball as Jazz Chisholm Jr. socked a two-run dinger in the second inning then Trent Grisham added solo shots in the third and fifth. He got six swings and misses on 70 pitches in the ballgame, registering a CSW of 29 percent. Now 7-10 on the season, he’ll carry a 4.79 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and a 117/50 K/BB ratio (124 innings) into Friday’s matchup against the Pirates.