Report: Cardinals, Dustin May agree to 1-year deal
The St. Louis Cardinals agreed to a contract with free-agent right-hander Dustin May, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan.
May's deal will be for one year and will include a mutual option for 2027, sources told MassLive's Chris Cotillo. Financial terms are not yet known, and completion of the deal is pending a physical.
May split his 2025 season between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox, posting a 4.96 ERA, 4.88 FIP, and 1.42 WHIP with 123 strikeouts over 25 total appearances. He started the year in good health but made just six appearances after being traded to Boston because of right elbow neuritis.
Injuries have been a recurring theme for May since he helped the Dodgers win the World Series as a rookie in 2020. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021, dealt with back problems the following year, and lost most of 2023 to a forearm strain. He didn't pitch at all in 2024 after undergoing emergency surgery for a torn esophagus he sustained in the midst of his arm rehab.
In November, the 28-year-old told MassLive's Christopher Smith that he's fully recovered from his most recent injury. May wasn't active for Boston's wild-card series loss to the New York Yankees, but he said he would have been available had the Red Sox advanced.
The Cardinals, who are embarking on a full-scale rebuild, will hope that May can stay healthy and rediscover his old form so he can be flipped again at next summer's trade deadline. For now, he'll presumably slot into the middle of a St. Louis rotation that also includes Matthew Liberatore and Michael McGreevy, among others.
The Cardinals have vacancies in their rotation after trading Sonny Gray to Boston, while veteran Miles Mikolas is expected to depart in free agency.
Originally a third-round pick of the Dodgers in 2016, May owns a lifetime 3.86 ERA, 4.22 FIP, and 1.20 WHIP with 297 strikeouts and 113 walks across 324 big-league innings.