Article: Early Impressions of Red Sox's Trade Deadline Acquisitions

[Alex Mayes]

It's been roughly ten days since the trade deadline, and the Red Sox have swept the Astros and beat the Royals before dropping a series to the Padres. Both pitching additions, Steven Matz and Dustin May, have appeared in games for the Sox since being acquired, and there has been varying levels of success in their limited time thus far in Boston. The hope was that both additions would be impact players ahead of the stretch run, and while it's too early to draw any firm conclusions, at least one of the new pitchers is living up to the hype. With a few days behind them, let’s take a look at how both additions have performed since joining the Red Sox. 

Steven Matz
We’ll start with the positive side of things. Matz has appeared in three games for the Red Sox, throwing 3 2/3 innings with a flat zero ERA and 3.11 FIP. He’s struck out two and walked two, but he’s been that kind o pitcher all season. He’s not allowed any barrels since coming to Boston and has allowed four hard hit balls. What’s been incredibly impressive, though, is that his sinker has ticked up a notch since coming to Boston. He’s hit 96+ mph in two different appearances. When he came into a stressful situation against the Padres, he was able to keep the game within a run.

You feel confident when you see Matz warming up in the pen, which is a welcome observation after the last few seasons. Should the Red Sox keep winning and hold onto a playoff spot, Matz will prove to be incredibly valuable in the postseason, both as a long reliever and a lefty specialist. Giving him more chances down the stretch will only help his confidence grow as October approaches.

Dustin May
Now for something completely different. Dustin May has also thrown 3 2/3 innings of baseball for the Boston Red Sox since being traded by the Dodgers. He’s working with a 7.36 ERA and 3.38 FIP. In his lone appearance so far, he’s struck out four and walked one, so that’s somewhat encouraging. He’s given up six hits and three runs, along with two hit batters. 

All that being said, there’s something intriguing about May and what he brings to the team. His stuff was down across the board in his first outing, but the Red Sox believe they can unlock something with him that will keep him in the rotation through the end of the season. There was some speculation that he could be gunning for Walker Buehler’s rotation spot when the trade happened, but then Buehler shined against the Padres. If that continues, May doesn’t have a clear spot in the rotation. The Red Sox had him feature his cutter and four-seamer an equal amount in his one start, a peculiarity given that the former offering has been mashed this season. Currently, May's cutter has yielded a .452 opposing batting average. The expected average is almost a full hundred points lower though, at .358, so there’s a bit of unluckiness coming into play there. The writing seems to be on the wall for May to join the bullpen at some point this season, and his stuff should play up quite a bit from there.

The deadline acquisitions of Steven Matz and Dustin May have been a bit of a mixed bag for the Red Sox. Matz has been dominant out of the bullpen, while May couldn’t make it through four innings in his first appearance for the team. If Matz can build on his current success and May can figure things out, with the help of Andrew Bailey of course, then the Red Sox could look incredibly smart by only acquiring pitchers on the fringes at the deadline. If the wheels fall off, though, the fanbase will look to the front office with the same hostility we saw show up the last few deadlines.

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[Deja Doh]

Matz has been okay, but did we need another lefty? 

[mvp 78]

12 hours ago, Deja Doh said:

Matz has been okay, but did we need another lefty? 

I don't believe Matz has big splits. He's a very competent reliever and is an upgrade over the other guys we had. 

[Alex Mayes]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

I don't believe Matz has big splits. He's a very competent reliever and is an upgrade over the other guys we had. 

Agreed. He's filling a role that was desperately needed no matter what hand he throws with. 

[Duran Is The Man]

speaking of Matz....Blaze Jordan is currently 1-26 at AAA Memphis. i really hate this for the kid as i'd like to see him do well.