Dodgers ship Dustin May to Boston; acquire reliever Brock Stewart, outfielder Alex Call in deadline deals
In a series of trade deadline deals, the Los Angeles Dodgers shipped starting pitcher Dustin May to the Boston Red Sox while also receiving some outfield and bullpen help on Thursday.
The Boston Red Sox acquired right-hander Dustin May from the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline on Thursday in exchange for minor league infielder/outfielder James Tibbs III and outfielder Zach Ehrhard for May, who is 6-7 with a 4.85 ERA this season. In his last outing, May gave up four runs in five innings in a loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
A member of the Dodgers' 2020 World Series championship team, May pitched in just 20 games over the next four seasons as he tried to come back from two Tommy John surgeries and a torn esophagus. He agreed to a one-year deal with the Dodgers last offseason worth just over $2 million.
Tibbs was one of the players acquired in the salary-shedding deal that sent All-Star designated hitter Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants last month. The deal brought the Red Sox little in talent but saved them more than $250 million that was expected to fatten their wallets for the trade deadline and beyond.
After missing the playoffs for three straight seasons and five of the last six – including three last-place finishes – the Red Sox were primed for a trade deadline spending spree. Despite trading Devers, Boston won 10 straight games heading into the All-Star break, has improved to 59-51 and entered the day in position for a wild-card berth.
The Giants traded Tibbs to Boston on June 15 in a package for Devers. He is batting .232 with 13 homers and 38 RBIs in Single- and Double-A. Ehrhard, 22, was hitting .227 with eight homers and 23 RBIs with Double-A Portland.
The Boys in Blue also landed a familiar face from the Minnesota Twins in relief pitcher Brock Stewart, who got outfielder James Outman back in return.
So far this season, Stewart has a 2.38 ERA in 34 innings pitched with 41 strikeouts. He most recently pitched for the Dodgers in 2019 before he was designated for assignment and picked up by the Toronto Blue Jays. Since then, he's struggled to stay healthy, appearing in just 44 games for Minnesota over the last two seasons. In 2025, however, he's pitched in a career-high 39 games.
He should instantly start to make a difference for a Dodgers' bullpen hampered by injuries, especially after placing righty Kirby Yates on the injured list just after the trade deadline passed.
Outfielder Alex Call was also acquired on Thursday, heading to Los Angeles from the Washington Nationals in return for minor league pitchers Eriq Swan and Sean Paul Linan.
Call, 27, figures to be a utility option off the bench to fill in for Dodgers outfielders. He's not a free agent until 2030, giving Los Angeles several years of team control.
In 2025, he's hitting .274 with three homers and 26 runs batted in.
On Wednesday, the day before a chaotic trade deadline struck, the Dodgers also acquired minor league pitchers Paul Gervase and Adam Serwinowski, as well as catcher Ben Rortvedt, in a three-team deal with the Tampa Bay Rays and Cincinnati Reds that saw catching prospect Hunter Feduccia headed to Florida.