Nov 1, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; The Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate on the podium after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in game seven of the 2025 MLB World Series at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images

Dodgers' World Series Title Highlights Red Sox's Biggest 2025 Failure

Originally posted on Boston Red Sox on SI
By Jackson Roberts | Last updated Nov 2, 2025 10:12 AM ET

If the Boston Red Sox learned one lesson this season, it's that half-measures are never the answer in Major League Baseball.

The Red Sox watched, along with millions of others across the world, as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in Game 7 of the World Series. It was a riveting, dramatic game, the kind that every fan remembers for all of time -- either in pure joy or heartbreak.

One could see the joy on the faces of the Dodgers players, who were soaking in the news that they'd just won back-to-back championship rings. But there's also one other player who will get a ring, even though he's officially still a Red Sox for the next couple of days.

Dustin May trade was inexcusable for Red Sox

The Dodgers shipped starting pitcher Dustin May to the Red Sox on July 31, only minutes before the actual deadline. It was one of just two trades they made, the other being a bullpen addition in the form of lefty Steven Matz.

From every angle, that trade was a disaster. Boston sent outfielder James Tibbs III, a 2024 first-round pick and the top prospect included in the Rafael Devers trade in June, to Los Angeles, along with another outfield prospect.

May, who was already at his career-high in innings pitched at that point and had a poor 4.85 ERA at the time of the trade, made just six appearances for the Red Sox, going 1-4 with a 5.40 ERA before suffering a forearm strain that ended his season.

But the most damning evidence that the trade was a flop comes from examining the Dodgers' roster at the end of the season. With Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, and Tyler Glasnow healthy, there was no world in which May would have gotten a playoff start for Los Angeles. In fact, he probably wouldn't have been included on the playoff roster, and there's even a chance he would have been designated for assignment at some point between the deadline and the end of the year.

The Red Sox, who were riding a hot streak at the trade deadline and had a real chance to make a run at the pennant with the right moves, wound up lighting real prospect capital on fire. That Dodgers team, talented as it was, was far from invincible. Same goes for the Blue Jays, who the Red Sox defeated in a series in Toronto with their playoff hopes hanging in the balance in September.

This year needs to serve as a reminder that the Dodgers are doing things the right way, and the Red Sox need to think twice about taking their scraps. And May will now own three World Series rings with Dodgers logos on them -- the same number as Mookie Betts, who will go into the Hall of Fame someday with an interlocking "LA" on his cap.

This article first appeared on Boston Red Sox on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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