It's not the big splash Red Sox fans were waiting for, but Boston did add a starting pitcher in the final minutes before Thursday's trade deadline.
According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Red Sox acquired 27-year-old right-hander Dustin May from the Los Angeles Dodgers. In exchange, Boston sent minor-leaguers James Tibbs and Zach Ehrhard to LA. Tibbs was part of the Rafael Devers package earlier this season.
May joins reliever Steven Matz as Craig Breslow's deadline additions. Both are pending free agents, so they are pure rentals unless the Red Sox sign either to an extension.
MassLive's Chris Cotillo reports that those are indeed the only two moves the Red Sox made. There had been reports that Boston made late pushes for starting pitchers Merrill Kelly and Joe Ryan, but Kelly went to the Texas Rangers instead and Ryan was not traded -- barring a blockbuster getting announced after the 6 p.m. deadline.
May was a highly-regarded prospect throughout his time in the minors, but has not been able to stay healthy throughout his seven years in the majors.
May's 19 appearances, 18 starts and 104 innings pitched this season are all career highs. In the previous four seasons combined, he was able to make just 20 appearances total.
May has a 6-7 record this season with a 4.85 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 97 strikeouts. This week he was demoted from LA's rotation and was set for a move to the bullpen before getting traded.
So, while the Red Sox did manage to add both a starter and a reliever, they're certainly not the high-impact moves that fans were hoping for, and that the team may have needed to make a serious run at a World Series. Time will tell whether this team is good enough with the core that was already in place.