Matt Dermody's turbulent time as a member of the Red Sox's 40-man roster came to an end after just six hours.
The Red Sox announced that they had designated the 32-year-old pitcher for assignment shortly after he started during Boston's 10-3 loss to the Guardians. Dermody allowed three runs, all earned, in four innings of work.
However, it wasn't his on-field performance that drew the scrutiny of Boston and MLB fans alike. It was a homophobic tweet that the pitcher had posted from his account in 2021.
So, what did Dermody tweet, and how did the Red Sox respond to it? Here's what to know about Boston's short-lived Matt Dermody saga.
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On June 26, 2021, Dermody tweeted the following message:
#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!
The tweet has since been deleted, but it still made the rounds ahead of Dermody's start. He addressed the post on Thursday as a result.
"I do regret the tweet in the sense that it came out hurtful and it hurt a lot of people," he said, per Christopher Smith of MassLive.com. "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."
Still, Dermody's message naturally drew criticism from members of the LGBTQIA+ community as word of it circulated ahead of his start. It also led many to wonder whether the Red Sox knew about Dermody's tweet before calling him up on Thursday, just days ahead of the team's planned Pride Night at Fenway Park.
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The Red Sox did, in fact, know about Dermody's tweet before Thursday. The team wasn't aware of it when they initially signed him during the offseason but reportedly met with him about it during spring training in March.
After speaking to Dermody, the Red Sox decided to keep him as a part of the organization. Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom explained why in a news conference ahead of Dermody's start.
"It's important to us that he had taken the tweet down and important why he had done it," Bloom said, per MassLive.com. "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.
"We do need to expect that everybody here is going to be committed to creating an inclusive and safe environment and so understanding why he had taken the tweet down and that his words were hurtful, and knowing that he doesn't want to hurt anybody and that he believes in a safe environment, was important here."
Manager Alex Cora echoed Bloom's message that the Red Sox were striving for an "inclusive" and "accepting" environment in the clubhouse. He also explained that the team has been working to educate players on inclusivity.
"Obviously, as an organization, we made this decision and done a lot of stuff to educate our players on the subject," Cora said to reporters in the dugout before the game. "I don't know how many organizations do it with their employees and their players as far as educating them about being inclusive, and obviously accepting everyone in your clubhouse and your working environment."
However, Cora also implied that an inclusive environment was a two-way street and that it wasn't the team's place to tell Dermody what to believe.
"Obviously, not too many people agree with the tweet of Matt's," Cora said. "I'm not here to tell him what to say or to do. But one thing for sure, when you put this uniform on, what we want is for people to be inclusive.
"I think the clubhouse is a reflection of the world. We've got people from different race, different beliefs, not just religious beliefs but also politics."
And Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy also condemned Dermody's message while maintaining that the pitcher was entitled to his religious beliefs.
"What Matt posted in 2021 was hurtful - and we addressed this with him when we learned about it after he joined the Red Sox in 2023," team president and CEO Sam Kennedy said in a statement. "We cannot dictate the religious beliefs or political views of our players and employees, but we do require they treat people in our organization and ballpark with respect and professionalism."
These explanations did not sit well with many Red Sox fans, who expressed frustration that the team's "inclusive" mindset seemed to help Dermody more than hurt him.
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The Red Sox's decision to designate Dermody for assignment may have something to do with his Twitter remarks and the backlash that the team faced for adding him.
However, it's also possible that the Red Sox were just fixing to use Dermody as a one-day big-league option anyway. Outfielder Adam Duvall is expected to return to the lineup on Friday against the Yankees, so the team needed to open a spot on the 40-man roster to activate him from the 60-day IL. The easiest way to do that was by parting with Dermody.
Perhaps the Red Sox could have added Duvall back to the roster on Thursday night and avoided the Dermody kerfuffle. That said, it made sense for the team to add pitching depth to its big-league rotation for their final game before the Yankees series.
Why? Because Boston wanted to line up its young trio of Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck and Brayan Bello to face New York. Adding another spot starter allowed them to do that while also trying to preserve their bullpen for the Yankees series.
The Red Sox accomplished that goal. Just three pitchers worked in the series finale against Cleveland - Dermody, Cory Kluber and Brennan Bernardino. And among them, only Kluber and Bernardino remain on the roster, so that should make them a better-rested bullpen.
Still, it's entirely fair to question why the Red Sox felt that Dermody was the right call-up. After all, he hadn't pitched with Worcester, the team's Triple-A affiliate, since May 28, so the team could have called up a different spot starter. They also could have used Kluber or Nick Pivetta to start in lieu of Dermody.
Would that tax the Boston bullpen a bit more? Yes, at least in terms of long-relief options. But fans likely would have preferred that option to the Dermody saga that unfolded on Thursday.
Now, the only thing to watch will be whether Dermody gets picked up by another team or eventually returns to Worcester on a minor-league contract. It's hard to imagine the latter scenario garnering much - if any - support in Red Sox Nation.