Boston Red Sox' Matt Dermody Set to Start on Thursday as Controversial Old Tweet Emerges

The Boston Red Sox are promoting Matt Dermody ahead of Thursday's game against the Cleveland Guardians. The Red Sox need the spot starter in place of the injured Chris Sale. It will be the first Red Sox appearance for the lefty, who will start even as a controversial old tweet has emerged.

The Boston Red Sox lost Chris Sale to the injured list last week. As a result, the team has had to shuffle its pitching plans. They've moved Kutter Crawford from the bullpen to the starting rotation and started him on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays and Wednesday against the Cleveland Guardians.

As a result of the injury, and all this shuffling, the Red Sox need a starter for Thursday's game against Cleveland. Enter Matt Dermody, the 32-year-old lefty. This will be his first big league game this year. He's pitched in 30 games in his career with the Blue Jays and Cubs.

This would be nothing more than an every day spot start, if not for the controversy that comes with Dermody, who was signed by the Red Sox before the season.

During Pride Month (June) in 2021, Dermody tweeted the following, and then eventually deleted it:

“#PrideMonth. Homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God. They will go to hell. This is not my opinion, but the #Truth. Read 1 Corinthians 6:9. May we all examine our hearts, ask Jesus to forgive us and repent of all our sins. I love you all in Christ Jesus!”

https://t.co/7KATxuUPIr pic.twitter.com/6ABuLF7FT6

— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) June 8, 2023

According to excellent reporting from Sean McAdam of MassLive.com, the Red Sox were not aware of the deleted tweet when they signed Dermody, but Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom says they met with him in spring training about the tweet.

From McAdam's article: 

“It’s important to us that he had taken the tweet down and important why he had done it,” Bloom said. “I talked to him personally about that and what he told me was that it really came down to two things. One, he didn’t realize that his words would be hurtful and he didn’t want to hurt anybody and when he realized that they were, he took (the post) down.

“He also understood that it’s not the right use of his platform. He knows he made a mistake tweeting that. That’s why he took it down. Obviously, that doesn’t mean that we endorse anything he said or anything he believes. But the fact of the matter is, if we’re committed to creating an (inclusive) environment, it’s not right for us to police what people believe.

The Red Sox play the Guardians on Thursday at 7:10 p.m. ET.