The Boston Red Sox acquired starter Dustin May from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, filling their need for pitching help.

May, a pending free agent who is out of options, can help the Red Sox both out of the bullpen and in the rotation.

A dynamic right-hander who commands a sweeper, a power sinker and a fastball that reaches the upper 90s, May returned from a prolonged absence this year and helped stabilize an injury-riddled Dodgers rotation, posting a 4.85 ERA in 19 games (18 starts). May, 27, struck out 97 batters and issued 43 walks in 104 innings.

The Dodgers found May to be expendable with Tyler Glasnow healthy, Yoshinobu Yamamoto turning in a solid season, Shohei Ohtani getting stretched out as a starter and Blake Snell expected to return to the rotation after a four-month absence this weekend. The Dodgers also have Clayton Kershaw and Emmet Sheehan as starting options at the moment.

May was a key contributor on the Dodgers team that won the World Series during the COVID-shortened 2020 season but compiled just 20 major league starts from 2021 to 2024. Last summer, May was coming back from flexor tendon surgery when he suffered an esophageal tear while chewing on a piece of lettuce, prompting life-saving surgery and again ending his season prematurely.

Boston sent Los Angeles outfield prospect James Tibbs III in return for May. Tibbs, the 13th pick in last year’s draft out of Florida State, was initially acquired by Boston as part of the Rafael Devers trade in June.