For a fleeting moment, Boston Red Sox fans believed Craig Breslow managed an unlikely trade for Minnesota Twins ace Joe Ryan at the trade deadline.
FOX Sports: MLB and Yahoo Sports both posted graphics on Twitter that showed the Red Sox had successfully traded for Ryan. Unfortunately, both were quickly deleted, and Boston was forced to settle for a lesser rotation option with just minutes to go until the 6 p.m. trade deadline.
The Red Sox have traded for starting pitcher Dustin May from the Los Angeles Dodgers, first reported by MLB insider Jeff Passan. The Dodgers will get James Tibbs III and Zach Ehrhard as their return for May. Tibbs, formerly the No. 5 prospect in the Red Sox's system, per MLB Pipeline, is an outfielder who came to Boston from the Giants in the Rafael Devers trade. Ehrhard is also an outfield prospect, ranked at No. 27 in the Red Sox's farm. May is a true rental and he'll be a free agent at the end of the season.
May has posted a 4.85 ERA with 97 strikeouts and 43 walks over 104 innings for LA this season. He missed the entirety of the 2024 campaign as he recovered from Tommy John and esophagus surgery. He'll be the third pitcher in Boston's rotation who has undergone UCL surgery in the last two years.
Red Sox trade with Dodgers for Dustin May after brutal Joe Ryan tease
The Boston Red Sox are acquiring right-hander Dustin May from the Los Angeles Dodgers, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 31, 2025
May's most recent start was on July 27 against the Red Sox. He gave up four runs on five hits with five strikeouts in five innings.
Boston had been linked to Ryan a few weeks before the deadline, but multiple reports stated that the Twins wouldn't trade him this year. The 29-year-old has pitched to a 2.82 ERA with a 0.92 WHIP, 137 strikeouts and 24 walks in 121.1 innings this season. He's under team control until after the 2028 season, and it would have taken a substantial return for the Red Sox to entice Minnesota into a trade.
Chris Cotillo of MassLive confirmed shortly after the deadline that May and Steven Matz were the Red Sox's only moves. Boston fared quite poorly at the deadline compared to the Blue Jays and Yankees, the other American League East teams that bought this year.
The Red Sox's inadequacies hurt even more after the Ryan trade tease.