The trade deadline has come and gone, and the Boston Red Sox performance has been widely panned. The team brought in two pitchers: Steven Matz and Dustin May.
While it’s fair to criticize the relative lack of activity, given the quantity of trades that went down on Thursday afternoon, there are still 52 games to be played, and the team currently holds a playoff position.
Steven Matz will slide into the bullpen. He’s previously pitched as a starter, but Craig Breslow downplayed the possibility of using the lefty in that role.
Dustin May has worked almost exclusively as a starter throughout his career and figures to slot into that role with the Red Sox. Alex Cora wouldn’t commit to Richard Fitts going forward after his latest outing, and a series of injuries leaves Boston shorthanded in the rotation.
Breslow said Friday is probably too early to expect May to be ready to start for the team on Friday but could pitch shortly thereafter.
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May has struggled with injuries throughout his career and is already at a career high for innings pitched in a season. As the playoffs approach, the Red Sox might give some thought to moving him into a multi-inning relief role and using an all-hands-on-deck approach.
In 2021, Alex Cora wasn’t afraid to use his pitching staff in creative ways. Nick Pivetta closed out the final game of the regular season after spending the entire season in the rotation, for example.
May is somewhat similar to Tanner Houck in that he doesn’t have an offspeed pitch with which to attack left-handed hitters. The Red Sox might try to add to his arsenal by giving him a splitter or a changeup, but they don’t have much time to work with the righty.
Should May continue to struggle against lefties, a spot in the bullpen might be beneficial for him. The Red Sox need innings, and it’s too soon to change the new addition’s role. At the end of the season, if they need to chase wins, picking matchups and putting May in for pockets of righties could be an additional weapon for Alex Cora.
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