Cardinals Flamethrower is Running Out of Time in St. Louis

While St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom hasn't come out and said the club is going to be selling off pieces before the trade deadline. But it's pretty clear that it will be the case.

St. Louis is 54-54 on the season so far and is 2 1/2 games out of a National League Wild Card spot. There are just a few days to go until the Aug. 3 trade deadline and the Cardinals do not look like contenders. On top of that, while there have been trade rumors all season to this point, they have intensified over the last few days as the Cardinals have struggled to kick off the second half of the season.

Dustin May has been a major talking point all season to this point when it comes to the trade deadline. The noise has taken a turn. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on Wednesday that the club is "actively exploring" what it could get in return for May.

Changes Are Coming

Jul 24, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Dustin May (3) throws against the Cincinnati Reds during the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"The Cardinals are actively exploring what they can get in return for starter Dustin May; his final start for the Cardinals could be Wednesday. And they’re entertaining overtures for lefty JoJo Romero, veteran reliever Ryne Stanek, and also catcher Pedro Pagés," Goold wrote.

This isn't speculation or hypothetical mock trades, which dominated headlines early in the season. The Cardinals are actively looking around right now and seeing what they could get in return for the 28-year-old flamethrower.

This is a clear sign that changes are coming to St. Louis very soon.

Fortunately, the Cardinals have ready-made options to replace May without having to go out and add another hurler.

First and foremost, the Cardinals could simply just put Hunter Dobbins in the rotation for the rest of the season. There's no reason why he shouldn't be in the rotation right now anyway. Matthew Liberatore has struggled and we've already made the case to swap him out for Dobbins.

If May is moved, then simply inserting Dobbins would be the easiest path forward.

If not Dobbins, the next option would be to promote No. 7 prospect Quinn Mathews. The 25-year-old is ready. He has made 19 starts in Triple-A this season and has a 3.13 ERA in 92 innings pitched.

If the Cardinals really wanted to give the rotation a boost, they could trade May away and make a change with Liberatore and then add both Dobbins and Mathews to the rotation. At the very least, it's pretty clear that Cardinals fans could've seen the last of May in a St. Louis uniform on Wednesday when he pitched five one-hit innings against the Chicago Cubs.

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