NEW YORK (AP) — Pitcher Matt Dermody was cut by the Boston Red Sox on Friday, a day after he made his first major league start and said he regretted making a homophobic tweet two years ago.
The 32-year-old left-hander was designated for assignment as part of a flurry of roster moves. Boston has seven days to trade him or place him on waivers.
Toronto Blue cut pitcher Anthony Bass earlier Friday, one day after the right-handed reliever said he didn’t think an anti-LGBTQ+ social media post he shared last month was hateful.
Boston also activated outfielder Adam Duvall from the 60-day injured list after he recovered from a broken left wrist, transferred left-hander Chris Sale (left shoulder inflammation) to the 60-day IL and selected the contract of left-hander Joe Jacques Triple-A Worcester. The Red Sox said infielder Enmanuel Valdez was optioned to Worcester after Thursday night's game against Cleveland.
Dermody allowed three runs over four innings against the Guardians, giving up two of José Ramírez’s three home runs and taking the loss in a 10-3 defeat. He was 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA in eight starts and one relief appearance for Worcester.
Dermody made the social media post in 2021. It has since been deleted, but captured screenshots continue to circulate.
The Red Sox said they were unaware of Dermody’s tweet when he signed with the club in January. Once they learned of it, team officials met with Dermody, who went through mandatory anti-discrimination and harassment training in March.
Afterward, Dermody expressed some remorse for his actions.
“I do regret the tweet in the sense that it came out hurtful and it hurt a lot of people,” he said. “That’s the last thing I want to do is hurt people. A lot of people think that I’m against a certain group of people or whatnot. But I’m for everybody making it to heaven.”
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