by Cary Osborne
With Blake Snell returning on Saturday, the Dodgers were looking at an excess in starting pitching.
Before that, they traded right-handed starter Dustin May to the Boston Red Sox on Thursday.
The Dodgers are getting in return the Red Sox’s №5 prospect James Tibbs III and №27 prospect Zach Ehrhard — both outfielders.
Tibbs III was acquired by the Red Sox in the June 15 trade that sent Rafael Devers to the Giants. Tibbs III was selected 13th overall in the 2024 MLB Draft and was the Giants’ №4 prospect before the Devers deal.
He hit 28 home runs for Florida State in 2024 and had a 1.264 OPS.
Ehrhard is batting .270/.371/.434/.805 with nine home runs and 23 stolen bases at the Double-A and High-A levels this season.
May, a career Dodger, was the team’s Opening Day starter in 2020 and appeared in nine postseason games in that championship season.
May’s 18 starts and 104 innings rank second on the Dodgers this year to Yoshinobu Yamamoto. They are also career highs for the 27-year-old, who is due to be a free agent after this season. May, in his sixth season, had a 4.85 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 97 strikeouts this season.
May underwent two major elbow surgeries (2021 and 2023) and missed the entire 2024 season recovering from elbow and esophagus surgeries.
Once Snell is activated, the Dodgers have a rotation that also includes Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani and Emmet Sheehan as a starting or piggy-back option. Roki Sasaki is trying to work his way back with hopes of a late August return.
The Dodgers made four trades on Thursday that impact the Major League club and player development system, acquiring:
· Left-handed pitcher Adam Serwinowski (former Reds’ №10 prospect), right-handed pitcher Paul Gervase (40-man roster) and catcher Ben Rortvedt in a three-team deal with Tampa Bay and Cincinnati
· Right-handed reliever Brock Stewart (active roster) from Minnesota
· Outfielder Alex Call (active roster) from Washington
· Outfielders Tibbs III (former Red Sox №5 prospect) and Ehrhard (former Red Sox №27 prospect) from Boston
“I think it’s always about how does everything fit together with what our current roster is and what our needs are,” said Brandon Gomes, Dodger executive vice president and general manager. “We went into this season with a really high bar of talent. Outside of losing Evan (Phillips), we’re in that same spot. So we felt this is an incredibly talented group that as we get healthy and these guys hit their stride, we feel like we’re in a great position for another deep run into October.”
Dodgers land former first-rounder and top-tiered prospect in deal that sends Dustin May to Boston was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.