December 17th: The Cards officially announced May’s signing today. May will make $12.5MM in 2026 and the mutual option is worth $20MM, per Passan. It’s a $12MM salary and a $500K buyout on the option, per Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat.
December 13th: The Cardinals are expected to sign right-hander Dustin May, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. It’s a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2027. May spent last season split between the Dodgers and Red Sox.
May was sent to Boston at the trade deadline for James Tibbs and Zach Ehrhard. After scuffling through 19 appearances with L.A., he battled injuries and poor performance with the Red Sox. May set career highs in innings (132 1/3) and games (25) last season, but posted an unsightly 4.96 ERA with an xFIP and SIERA in the mid-4.00s.
St. Louis was in desperate need of rotation depth after trading Sonny Gray to Boston and watching Miles Mikolas hit free agency. The club also lost swingman Steven Matz, who signed with Tampa Bay. May is set to join holdovers Andre Pallante and Michael McGreevy in the rotation. May’s former teammate on the Red Sox, Richard Fitts, will likely be in the mix after coming over in the Gray trade. The Cardinals are considering converting Kyle Leahy into a starter to round out the staff.
The Dodgers spent a third-round pick on May in 2016. He emerged as one of the top pitching prospects in a system typically stocked with elite arms. May made his MLB debut in 2019, working largely out of the bullpen. He spent the majority of the shortened 2020 campaign in the rotation, making 10 starts. It would be the only time he would reach double-digit starts until this past season. Injuries capped May to just 20 games from 2021 to 2023. He missed all of 2024 due to flexor tendon surgery.
May stayed healthy for the first time in 2025, making 19 appearances for the Dodgers. He stumbled to a 4.85 ERA over 104 innings. Despite the performance, May still netted LA an intriguing prospect in Tibbs, a first-round pick in 2024 (by San Francisco). The veteran righty made just six appearances with the Red Sox before right elbow neuritis cut his season short.
The Cardinals are betting on May pairing the flashes of solid production he’s shown in prior seasons with the improved health from 2025. The 28-year-old recorded a sub-3.00 ERA in 2020, 2022, and 2023, albeit in abbreviated campaigns. While he did go down with the elbow issue in September, he still destroyed his previous career bests in terms of workload. May had totaled 101 innings over four seasons before putting up 132 1/3 frames last year. It was the first time in his six-year career that May showed the ability to stay on the mound for any kind of extended stretch.
May has a perplexing pitching profile. He has a GIF-worthy arsenal headlined by a high-spin sweeper and a fastball in the mid to upper-90s. Oddly, the repertoire hasn’t generated whiffs or strikeouts for much of his career. May spiked a 37.6% strikeout rate over five games in 2021, but he’s been at best an average strikeout pitcher in every other season. He posted a middling 21.1% mark between L.A. and Boston last year. May has a modest 8.8% swinging-strike rate for his career. None of his five pitches has a standout whiff rate.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post was first to report that the contract was for one year. MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo was first to note the deal included a club option for 2027.
Photo courtesy of Paul Rutherford, Imagn Images
..cardinLOLs
I mean, the season is about development. We probably don’t have enough arms. Of he gets healthy, we can flip him for assets. If he bombs, oh no! We lose anoher 3 games.
Yes, they need more innings out of their starting rotation, so why sign someone so injury prone?
You have to know the contract terms to make fun of it.
He’s a risk no matter what they pay.
He’s not a risk to a team with nothing to lose
He is a risk for a team that needs more innings out of their starting rotation just to get through the season next year.
There’s no such thing as a bad 1-year deal.
Cole Hamels Braves 1 year deal begs to differ
Jordan Romano
Except that the Cardinals are rebuilding, not planning on being contenders. The Hamels deal bombed because of the high expectations for the both pitcher and team.
Angels signing Thor for $21 million was a bad contract
Except an injury prone upside play like May is a move that a contender is actually more likely to make.
No it isn’t. A contender isn’t going to roll the dice on an injury prone player. A contender is going to go with a higher floor, not a higher ceiling.
Ppcc
Yes.
It definitely ruined them
Hamels was a Brave in 2020
Braves were WS Champs in 2021
kzw
” A contender isn’t going to roll the dice on an injury prone player”
Yes
The two time defending champion Dodgers NEVER roll the dice on players with injury histoires
Excellent call
I like it. Big talent for a high upside if it works out. If it doesn’t, well next season looks like one more year of let the young guys play and we aren’t expecting to win a World Series anyway.
A piece to “rebuild” around.
I feel like Dustin May is now experiencing what Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard did post Mets, although without their early success. Great arms that seemingly never make it back from TJS. A reminder of why many don’t want to “just have the surgery” unless it’s absolutely needed, as it was for these guys.
That’s a good point, though I think it was thoracic outlet for Harvey
Solidifies the rotation at least.
I think he’s going to have a solid season. Great guy, completely nasty stuff when he’s right.
Hope he does well.
When was the last time he was right though?
Last season he was still in the later stages of recovery from surgery. He should be much better this season.
Same with Walker Buehler this season.
Another year removed from surgery, sounds good. I just like that my Cardinals are making a move. I can’t wait to see him pitch.
Well look what Preister did when he got out of Boston. This could be something if he gets in a lab or has a different approach.
I agree, both are great opportunities to catch a little magic for a rebuilding team. I still feel May is destined for the bullpen sooner or later. He has never had that quality third pitch needed to stick as a starter.
Healthy first…obviously staying healthy is the key….his spin rates are excellent…location is the key with him…
lol do a little research first.
You really are Optimistic!!
Sad- Certainly did not have a positive impact on the Sox. Granted not an easy place to settle in when you are in a race for the playoffs and have that passionate of a fanbase. It will be interesting to see how he does under less pressure and with a different coaching staff, but I would set my expectations low so if he does well you can be pleasantly surprised.
I wish we had Dave Duncan right now instead of Dusty Blake
Dodgers fans appreciate you guys paying him while he finished his recovery. Breslow should have known better.
Unfortunately solidify your IL. I enjoyed watching him for years but he can’t stay healthy.. He’ll tease with 3 great starts he’ll.come crashing to.earth on the next 3..I’ll.be rooting for him from.LA
Solidifies how? He keeps getting hurt.
Best of luck Dustin!
Missed opportunity! Dang it. Good luck in StL, Big Red!
No offense, but I’m extremely happy he didn’t sign with the Padres. We don’t need Dustin learning 8 more pitches from Yu that have May movement.
Indeed Gwynning, best of luck great value Noah Syndergaard
Checks notes… Thor…
“Available”
Is the Padres rotation that bad that you wanted Dustin?
*checks notes through tearful eyes*
Yes…
Manny has an amazing arm. And every shortstop ever has pitched at some point. Just putting it out there…
Hot stove getting hot in stl
I see Chaim following the dumpster diving playbook in St Louis.
Not sure if this is true. Signing a player because you want a warm body is one thing. Signing a player because he has quality talent is another.
The Cardinals shouldn’t be paying anybody big money right now anyway. They’re rebuilding starting from the development in the minors on up. They should’ve started this 3 years ago honestly
Yes
Three years ago, they were unaware that most of their pitching staff was about to fall apart. It really was strangely unpredictable what happened to most of their pitching in 2023.
So you want to sign a front end starter during a rebuild? Asking for a friend…. Cardinals can afford to sign any player rn that they wish. But why waste 2 years doing that… Chaim is actually making really smart moves. In 2 years, when they are in contention, they will be better poised financially to sign who they wish. He is getting rid of contracts that have 2 years left or players that will be 30 in 2 years. The Cardinals will be young and hungry and they will have $ to spend
Dustin May has some upside, but he’s not an ace.
Can’t wait to see him throw against the LH lineup that the Cubs will roll out.
CardsFan – Blooms biggest problem is Boston (and there were many) was his utter neglect in maintaining the mlb roster.
He acted like once he had a pile of prospects he could flip a switch and instantly build a quality roster from nothing, plugging in prospects.
3 years later theyre still trying to fix the imbalance he created collecting poor 1b/dh types, not even elite ones, and finally getting a winning culture in place free agents want to come to.
For your sake as fans I hope he learned his lesson, but, early results aren’t promising
Hopefully the rebuild goes well and a couple of the young guys develope into stars…winning and star players will bring the fans back to the park….need attendance back in the 3 million range …before dewitt will even think about having a 170..180 million dollar payroll again
Not really dumpster diving, as May is good if he’s healthy, which is a big if. The problem is that such a profile doesn’t really fit a rebuilding team with a starting rotation otherwise made out of mostly inexperienced youngsters.
He’s a sign and trade at the deadline. Or move to the bullpen if things work out for younger players. Zero risk here
The risk is that he gets hurt again, which leads to the other starters getting overworked or called up before they’re ready in order to fill innings. The bullpen would wind up overworked, as well.
The number he signs for will not preclude more additions. Zero risk.
Ahh, listening to Sox fans complaining about their past and current POBOs and GMs just never gets old, does it?
Red Sox traded two real prospects to rent this
Should’ve traded Hicks and kept Tibbs LOL
Dodgers had no interest in Hicks or his salary.
Dan- that was a joke, thus the LOL at the end
Dan, Dodgers have interest and salary and interest on salary and celery salad. They’re like my chub uncle at a buffet, drooling and grabbing and trying to shuffle away from security.
Tibbs is on his third team in 17 months. Looks like teams don’t really value him.
Giants traded him for a star. Red Sox were on some type of drug when they made that deal. Maybe a panic after Breslow couldn’t get Joe Ryan
amk1920: “Giants traded him for a star”
=============
Tibbs was one of 4 players sent to the Red Sox for Devers. The Giants were in the driver’s seat as to who they sent because they took on so much money and the Red Sox wanted Devers gone asap. If Tibbs was really valuable, he wouldn’t have been traded twice in about a year since being drafted. That may be record for a first round draft pick.
Amk – he was struggling in his short time in Boston’s minor league system. He performed well in SF and LAD, so might just be yet another miss by the analytic nerds in Boston.
Or maybe Breslow jumped on the first available deal for Devers and didn’t do his due diligence.
it wasn’t the price (though Tibbs has some value), it was the return…
@all in
“Tibbs is on his third team in 17 months. Looks like teams don’t really value him.”
“Third team in 17 months” is such a lazy statistic without any context. Being included in big trades (a superstar and another fairly high profile player) signals value, not the opposite. And you realize the other team has to want the player too, right? Or, do you think the Dodgers (a team that, by the way, is quite good at identifying talent) went to the bargaining table saying, “We’ll take Tibbs off your hand since he’s obviously cooked since we’ll be his third team in 17 months, but we really like you so we’re going to be nice”?
The fact he was traded twice is more of a coincidence than anything else.
It took Tibbs and his 6 years of control plus another player to get 2 months of Dustin May. That sounds like he is not very valuable to teams.
And the White Sox traded Tatis Jr and all his years of control for James Shields. Your point?
Wow. The Tatis/Shields trade is completely different than the May/Tibbs trade.
“Shields and cash (reportedly $31MM of the remaining $58MM on his contract) will head to Chicago in exchange for fellow righty Erik Johnson and shortstop prospect Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres general manager A.J. Preller announced.”
mlbtraderumors.com/2016/06/padres-likely-to-trade-…
It was not just players for players and Shields was not a 2 month rental. The Padres basically bought Tatis Jr. for $31M as Erik Johnson was a nobody with a 6.94 ERA.
@all, the Red Sox badly overrated May. It was a desperation move that predictably failed.
Tibbs is far from being a top prospect, probably never amounts to much, but it was still a bad trade.
I agree May was bad, but I don’t think the Red Sox gave up a lot of value for him. May might have been a fall back trade they had in mind if the couldn’t line up on a trade for someone better like Ryan who they tried to get. I doubt May was on top of their wish list. Everything else probably fell through as it looks like Breslow hates to get ripped off.
Most likely. I still believe they would have been better off doing nothing. Tibbs isn’t the issue, just a fungible mid-grade prospect.
There seem to be a lot more Cardinal fans that are excited about his potential than Sox fans when they got May. Obviously he was as bad as predicted in Boston, but that was a very different situation.
Uncle – yeah, no hate for May, I hope he does well.
If he pitches well maybe the Sox could trade for him again in July
Just kidding everyone
Feel the same way. Can’t blame May for getting traded to the Sox and not having success. I just wish they had held on to Buehler rather than waste money and prospects on May. I was not a fan of Buehler, but it seemed like that was a trade for the sake of making a trade not that May would be the impactful pitcher we needed.
Tatis wasn’t even considered a big prospect at that time.
Has Craig Breslow made even one good trade?
Lowey- yes, he traded Nick Yorke for Quinn Priester, oh wait….
Not yet. Clock’s ticking.
Wasn’t getting Crochet a good trade? I know they gave up solid prospects, but we finally got an ace.
Breslow moved devers entire salary, from a position of weakness while the player was openly revolting and insubordinate.
Thats one heck of a great trade
Not all Sox fans agree that it was a great trade. Devers did not handle the situation well, but Breslow and the Sox management could have been more up front about him being moved around.
The Sox still have not replaced his bat and he eventually would have moved to 1st after doing a bit of complaining. If he got comfortable and was even adequate with his defense at first, the Sox would be in a better position with him still in the lineup.
Just my opinion.
The devers trade will be polarizing for years to come.
Fact of the matter is, casas went down with a bad, unforseeable injury May 2. June 15th devers was shipped out to SF.
Thats 45 days of ‘bit of complaining’ without making any smallest shift in attitude or activity towards helping the club and his teammates at 1B.
Im sure opinions will differ, but how long is reasonable to allow the pouting and insubordination to poison the clubhouse and set a bad example for the other 25 guys doing whats asked and trying to win?
There are a lot of unanswered questions and if I remember correctly there were players commenting that the rumors about Devers being a negative presence in the clubhouse were not true. He also claimed he never refused to play first base.
As I said he did not handle it well with his public comments but neither did management when they told him he was strictly going to be a DH after giving up 3rd as well as insisting he was going to be the starting third baseman throughout the process of recruiting Bregman. Athletes have an ego as they should and they made him look like a fool, I don’t blame him for being pissed off. I think he needed to backdown and start practicing at first, but again we don’t know the whole story.
We each have our own view of that whole situation and I am not saying my opinion is any better than people with an opposing view. When they find someone to replace his offensive numbers it will be easier to move on, but they have not done that yet.
Uncle: I think it was just as big of a problem that Devers could not keep things behind closed doors. This was not the first time he criticized the Red Sox in the media. The media continually prodded him and he continued to run his mouth. That was not a good example for all their young players.
Suit – i dont know if you’ve followed any of the Liverpool team drama. Their star player Mo Salah, signed to a huge contract, won a championship last year, scored like crazy. In the offseason Liverpool signed another high priced talent. All of a sudden, Mo Salah (never a problem before) was a malcontent, bad in the locker room, out of shape, then benched.
Any of that sound familiar? Mo said he felt like management was conspiring against him. Also, articles were written about how FSG, not the club or manager, were making personnel moves….FSG.
I think they wanted to unload Devers before he ever stepped foot in Fort Myers.
We dont know how many other players have been asked to change positions and politely told their team to f*$% off.
Heck, there was this guy named Derek Jeter who refused to move off his position for a better player, and did it pretty publicly. But, that team worked it out and won a world series.
Devers is a star player. Ask Garit Cole who simply refused to pitch to him any longer. The Sox just swept the Yanks and Devers was raking as DH, position switch in the rear view mirror when he was traded……
Sad: I don’t follow that at all, but a quick Google search found this article. It is 5 opinions of the Salah situation. 4 of the 5 blame Salah.
theguardian.com/football/2025/dec/12/liverpool-fan….
All- I agree that Devers should not have publicly complained. I got the feeling he was pretty sensitive and after dealing with the fanbase calling out his defense for years I am sure he was hurt by management assuring him publicly that he was going to remain the 3rd baseman only to move him to DH when they signed Bregman.
He likely had not gotten over that when they suddenly ask him to play a position he has never played. His frustrations obviously boiled over. I felt bad for him, because the whole situation was handled so poorly. He was a bit immature and probably felt considerable pressure representing his country. I think the immaturity is what led him to talk publicly when he should have worked it out behind closed doors.
Suit – two things about the article asking supporters who’s to blame:
1) all fans blame the player when they dont play, case in point Raphael Devers. They have no idea who the nameless, faceless, functionary in FSG is….
2) John Henry owns newspapers and has teams of people working for him that can spin a situation away from them and onto some petulant athlete.
Sad: Devers own selfish statements to the media are reason to trade him. No spin needed. When you are paid $31M per year you should help the team in any way needed. You have made your money and your focus should be on the team. You will need to explain how these 5 writers (not just fans) are on John Henry’s payroll if you want me to believe that.
Both sides were immature in the way they handled the situation. Both can be wrong.
Dumping Devers was a good one.
CBP: Agreed. Regarding contracts and trades, I think it is equally as important to avoid huge mistakes as it is to have big successes.
Purse- I completely agree that there were some terrible long term contracts given out prior to the more recent leadership, I don’t think anyone will ever understand the reasoning behind the Panda signing.
I do hope that they will start moving away from the reclamation projects. It seems like a year doesn’t go by without them picking up someone who is not even going to be able to play at the time they are signed. They made some solid moves last year to put together a competitive team and hopefully that will be the case again this coming season.
The worst part was they released Buehler and his stats were better the rest of the season than May. The deadline definitely did not go down as the fans had hoped.
Will be interesting to see how he bounces back. I wish him well. He always had incredible stuff but the injuries clouded things.
Rebuild year why not
Good luck DM. All the best.
Funny, and article about the Cards pops up and they sign a guy.
Sweet! I wanted the Cardinals to sign either him or Paddack as a reclamation project.
Good. Now go clear some roster spots.
Dustin DisMay
Smart move with Deadline upside if it goes well
Welcome to St Louis, Mr May
bold move by the cardinals to sign a 74 year-old dave winfield
Love this move. Im assuming its a one year deal. If he’s good, you move him for prospects at the deadline. If he’s bad, release him. If he’s mediocre, keep him because someone needs to be around so soak up innings.
One year with a mutual option. So yes, one year in effect
How does he soak up innings from the IL?
Nice pickup. I was hoping the Angels would add him as one of their next redemption attempts.
He’s always good for a shaky 3-4 innings. Good pick up.
Sarcasm.
depending on contact terms this is the kind of move i’d want my team to make heading into a rebuild year. rebound candidate that has a chance to pay off big at the deadline
I prefer a guy who could actually eat some innings.
Fraggle Rock May. Can’t wait til he gives up like 10 ERs in 2.1 IP
Plus stuff. Poor results. Probability of injury is high. Lotto ticket, not a player you can rely on.
Keep the lettuce out of the clubhouse!
His second and third game with Boston last season, he looked like he was turning it around, just solid. THEN, he just imploded. Who knows?
@Charlie Wright
The Cardinals lost Steven Matz when they traded him to the Red Sox at the trade deadline.
Love it <3
When I saw the header “Cardinals Sign” I got excited but then came back to life. This could be our headline acquisition until Spring.
Definitely has the right hair color for the uniform
It makes sense honestly but I would temper expectations.
Oh yeah! Finally a pitcher the Pirates can use for batting practice!
Just like Will Flemming said, Red Sox fans are smiling…
Its a fit for the Cards situation, not the Red Sox.
Give the Cards a couple of years and they might be able to give the Sox a game.
They should set their sights higher than that… Maybe aim to compete with the Cubs and Brewers rather than striving to match a team that can barely scrape its way into the playoffs?
Change your name to WaitTil2027 or 2028 and it will all make sense. Because thats what they are aiming at, not 2026.
You may be correct, but I’ll hold off until I see the roster they bring to camp. Right now they are 4th or 5th in the division, but there is still time to improve.
Oh bloom is at it again
Regardless of how many starts he makes, you know you’ll get an exciting game one way or another.
He’s trash, the Cardinals are gonna be trash the next 3 years. Yawn…
He’s awful.
If only Dustin could shake that “Mr. May” persona and shade it more towards October ….
If it’s cheap, how can one not like this for the Cards? If he does badly then no big loss, the Cards have already said they’re rebuilding. If he does well then someone will come calling at the deadline and offer up a mid level prospect.
No kidding. If the Dodgers or Blue Jays or Braves made this signing it would be an upside play. But the Cards do it and all anyone says is he can’t eat innings.
Cards fans used to be the most knowledgeable…
Ok,
Now what’s the plan for the 1,2,3 slots in the rotation.
Like under Johnny MO, we got a lot of 4,5 & 6 types.
Where is our 1,2 & 3 in rotation.
Same old Same thing.
Are you new around here? We haven’t had those slots in years. You expecting to sign a #1 and #2 in a rebuild?
Paul Blackburn or German Marquez, lol
Where is our era of 3.21 or better over 185 innings.
No Ace.
No #2.
No #3.
Maybe a #4.
Maybe a #5.
For sure we have 5 # 6 type of pitcher’s.
at this point Johnny MO 2.0
JR. cheer up … I predict he will look better than Miles !
I think McGreevy will develop into at least a #3 starter next year, and May is a #2 starter whenever he’s actually healthy.
But yeah, expect an overworked bullpen next year as the roster currently stands.
I’ll be pleasantly surprised if McGreevy has that kind of ceiling. He doesn’t strike guys out, and was incredibly inconsistent. I think he’s more of a swing starter – someone we’d rather keep for depth for when people get hurt. Hope you’re right though.
You don’t always need big K numbers to be a good starter. Just look at what Mikolas did in his two All-Star seasons.
McGreevy had a very decent rookie year and wasn’t that inconsistent, especially compared to the rest of the rotation last year. He was already an acceptable #5 starter at worst and should only get better as he develops further.
It does not matter. The 2026 season is about development of younger players.
Starters on the Major League roster are meant to eat innings and improve. Period.
People like Randy Karraker would rather the Cardinals acquire more of these barely veteran, high floor, low ceiling, No. 5 starters in exchange for Donovan, Noot, Contreras, etc. That’s plain short-sighted.
The Cardinals are better off getting prospects at lower levels who may develop into the top pitchers you desire.
Hall of “if he didn’t always get hurt”.
Low cost era 4.88,
We got 20 minor league pitchers that fit that bill.
Will probably turn out to be a surprisingly solid move…. Watch them trade him for pieces….
Use him as a high-leverage swingman and see if he can stay on the field — Welcome to Cardinal Nation, Dustin!
Love this deal for $2.1m.
Yikes. Welp, I guess that’s $2.1m figure wasn’t accurate.
Oof. Lots of upside, but the price tag for upside sure has gone up. Fingers crossed 😊
Always been a huge fan of May, his ceiling felt endless. It was just so damn frustrating with all the injuries. I really hope he gets one full season completely healthy so we can finally see his full potential. Good luck to him over with the Cardinals.
Smart move. Can flip him at the deadline if he pitches well. Only one seasons money if he fails
He just needs to stay healthy until June with some decent numbers, and he can be flipped.
If he stays off the avocados he should be serviceable.
i know all Dodger fans think their guys are the greatest but Dustin is a good dude that’s going to figure it out. family guy, near death experience and way above average stuff when he’s on. definitely going to be rooting for this man!
You guys at MLBTR do know that Liberatore is ahead of both Pallante and Leahy on the starting pitching depth chart, don’t you?
Not what I was expecting for the Cardinals’ veteran starting pitcher signing. You’d think a team in the Cardinals’ current position would go with an innings eater instead of an injury-prone upside play.
I hope they sign someone else to actually provide their young rotation with some innings, but I’m doubtful they will do so.
Lanidrac: What’s the difference if they’re rebuilding? Maybe the upside play becomes either a future mainstay or a deadline trade commodity.
The difference is that they need to fill innings just to get through the season. May likely doesn’t provide that.
I think they’ll sign another free agent starter closer to spring training. Several of those guys will end up signing one year, “prove it” deals in February. The Cardinals may even sign a couple of them.
The Cardinals didn’t lose Matz to the Rays, the Red Sox did after they acquired him from the Cardinals.
Charlie Wright or any writer should have known a detail like that.
Cardinals starting the signing of bounce back candidates in an attempt to flip at the deadline. If not if he stays healthy he eats innings. Get used to these kind of deals this offseason and next. Teams trying to win can’t trot him out hoping he turns it around those games count for them but the Cardinals can afford the risk of bumps in the road and if he gets on track and he does have high upside he could net a good return. Good deal for May he gets to start for a team with a very long leash to work his way back
When Jordan Montgomery gets healthy don’t be surprised if he comes back with the Cardinals in hopes of rebuilding value. I don’t think he’ll be the guy he was for the Rangers championship run I think he was just dialed in at the right time but most of his career with Yankees then Cardinals he was a very solid reliable mid rotation starter. That has plenty of value. He planned on resigning with the Cardinals before he pitched out of his mind with the Rangers. But that was a small sample size when you look at his careers body of work. But again plenty of teams will be looking for left handed solid mid rotation starters if he gets back there which I think he will
Nice signing by St. Louis. Upside far outweighs the downside. Cards might have to make three or four more signings like this because it’s evident they don’t have the cheese to sign any of the good FA starting pitchers nor the prospects to trade for top-notch SP.
Gonna be a long summer by the Mississippi.
Sorry to the haters and doubters, but this is a good signing. For only a $2.million commitment they get a guy who has enough pedigree to get them a solid return if he’s healthy at the deadline while wasting very minimal payroll if he doesn’t. Absolutely nothing wrong with this. It’s the exact kind of move rebuilding teams are supposed to make.
it’s 12 million, not 2.
$2.1 million was the published number four days ago when I posted that, but obviously not 3+ days later when you responded. Obviously that monumental update changes things.
12.5 for a fragile pitcher, on what is going to be a really crappy team, seems like a risk they didn’t need to make. Not hating, just think 12.5 for May is too much.
Why would this be a risk for a team that isn’t going to be spending big money this year? He has a high-ceiling, so if he stays healthy and pitches up to it, they are going to get a very legitimate return at the deadline. If he doesn’t, so what, he’s gone for 2027. One year deals for a rebuilding team are literally the opposite of risk.
Stan, the risk is it’s 12 1/2 million for a guy that could break his arm shaking Bloom’s hand tomorrow. Sure the 1 year deal is about all STL is gonna throw anyone right now, but if you wanna ignore the last 4 years of this guy’s career, AND throw him a raise, well then I’m glad the risk is with your squad. Maybe it will work out and you can flip him. I would not take that bet though.
The absolute worst thing that could happen is that he gets hurt and can’t pitch this year and they have the exact same result of not making the playoffs that they would with a healthy May. There is ZERO risk here, that money means absolutely nothing to a team that isn’t spending anything else and isn’t competing. It’s not taking money away from upgrading other areas because they won’t do that anyways.
With the vastly different updated number, I agree. The Angels got a one year deal with Alec Manoah for $1.95 million. Obviously, he’s coming back from injury, but that’s a much better deal for someone who was third in Cy Young voting a few years ago. I’d much rather have that deal.
I saw that same figure of $2.1m the other day, but only saw it once, so it made me wonder. Man, $12m is a whole different situation. Fingers crossed.
Speaking of May, who’s the only MLB player to wear his birthday on his uniform?
carlos may
12.5 milion?
Starting Pitching is expensive I guess. Or Bloom REALLY wanted him
Anyone know how long they can put off the roster move to make room for him ?
Going on 4 days now…
They designated Koperniak for assignment. I feel bad for that kid. He has hit and fielded at pretty much every level, but never gotten a shot. Maybe someone else will give him a chance now. He’s not a superstar by any means, but seems like he could help a major league roster somewhere.
Did Bloom trade Liberatore, or is he just not mentioned anywhere in the article? It seems strange to leave him out since he is the “veteran” and longest tenured bird left in the rotation.
I guess the writer is new maybe? Liberatore probably starts Opening Day at this point.
I noticed that, too. Pretty significant omission.
Matz was on the Red Sox.
million dollar arm, 10 cent head.
cman
:sideeye.gif:
Muted
Odd to me that there’s no mention of Liberatore. Even mentioning Leahy. Matthews should be ready at some point also. Could have Liberatore, May, Fitts, Pallante, McGreevy plus whatever else comes along between now and the start of the season.
Pallante is probably going to be out as a starter, which is why they’re focused on stretching Leahy out. I think their eyes were open to the effect of McGreevy not being able to strike anyone out last year as well, but somebody has to start. Could be a very rough year, with a lot of overwork for the bullpen. 🙁
12.5 million is a crazy over pay!