{"id":109795,"date":"2025-08-01T08:38:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T08:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/109795\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T08:38:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T08:38:16","slug":"how-red-sox-will-use-trade-additions-dustin-may-steven-matz-bona-fide-starter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/109795\/","title":{"rendered":"How Red Sox will use trade additions Dustin May, Steven Matz; \u2018Bona fide starter\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Red Sox<\/a> will slot Dustin May into their starting rotation after acquiring the 27-year-old righty from the Dodgers<\/a> right before Thursday\u2019s 6 p.m. trade deadline<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Boston plans to use 34-year-old lefty Steven Matz<\/a>, who they acquired from the Cardinals on Wednesday night<\/a>, as a late-inning reliever.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Dustin, feel like we\u2019ve got a tried and true and battle tested starting pitcher coming from an organization that\u2019s had a ton of postseason success and somebody who can step into our rotation and add to our pitching group,\u201d chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said Thursday evening.<\/p>\n

May has a 4.85 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 97 strikeouts and 43 walks in 19 outings (18 starts) this season. He missed 2024 due to a problem with his esophagus which required emergency surgery. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think ultimately what we see in Dustin is a guy who really limits hard contact, keeps the ball on the ground at a strong rate,\u201d Breslow said. \u201cI feel like that\u2019s something that will play well here at our park. Is battle tested, has premium stuff and a bona fide starter that can take the ball for us every five days.\u201d<\/p>\n

May has limited hard contact in previous seasons. However, this season he\u2019s in the 14th percentile in average exit velocity (90.8 mph) and 22nd percentile in hard hit percentage (44.2%) among major league pitchers.<\/p>\n

He ranks in the 62nd percentile in ground ball percentage (44.6%).<\/p>\n

Breslow had said leading up to the deadline he wanted to add \u201can impact starter\u201d and \u201cnot just starting pitching that can take a spot in the rotation<\/a>.\u201d He wouldn\u2019t say whether May \u2014 who has logged 14 postseason innings (all in 2019 and \u201820) \u2014 fits that description or where he slots into the rotation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how much sense it makes to say exactly what he is,\u201d Breslow said. \u201cUltimately what he does over the next two months and beyond is going to define his time here in Boston.\u201d<\/p>\n

Breslow didn\u2019t rule out May starting Friday when the Red Sox need a starting pitcher. But Breslow also added it\u2019s a \u201chefty ask\u201d for someone who has to travel here quickly after just being traded.<\/p>\n

May already has thrown 104 innings. His previous career-high was 56 innings in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe feels good. The stuff has continued to trend in the right direction, so we\u2019ll do everything we can to provide the recovery and resources and monitor workloads the same way we would anybody else,\u201d Breslow said. \u201cBut don\u2019t feel like there are kind of restrictions on usage here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matz has posted a 3.44 ERA in 32 outings (55 innings) this year. He has a 5.40 ERA, allowing 17 earned runs in 28 \u2153 innings, in his last 21 outings dating back to May 14.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s served multiple roles in the big leagues, but it seems like out of the pen the stuff has ticked up,” Breslow said. \u201cHe\u2019s got a really good fastball that plays to both sides. He\u2019s a great strike thrower. Has been in kind of pressure situations before, so we feel like he\u2019s someone that Alex (manager Alex Cora) can call upon in the seventh, eighth, ninth inning and get really big outs for us. And if you kind of look at what he\u2019s done out of the pen, he\u2019s been really, really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matz has nine meltdowns compared to eight shutdowns this season. He has a Win Probability Added of -0.68.<\/p>\n

Breslow said he wouldn\u2019t close the door on Matz starting if the Red Sox need him there later this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re obviously going to do whatever we need to do to try to win games down the stretch here and if that means getting him stretched out a little bit or taking on a little bit more of a bulk role, then we\u2019ll explore it,” Breslow said.<\/p>\n

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