Dustin May Shares Farewell Message To Cardinals After Being Traded

The St. Louis Cardinals made the smart decision to trade the veteran pitcher despite their surprising success this season.

Jul 29, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Dustin May (3) is greeted by teammates during a game against the Chicago Cubs in the fifth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Though the St. Louis Cardinals surprisingly have remained in the playoff race for most of the season, the team made the right decision to sell at the trade deadline.

St. Louis began leaning into a full-scale rebuild at the trade deadline last season and followed it up this offseason by trading away Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras and Brendan Donovan. Amid the flurry of trades that the Cardinals made in the offseason, one of the few players that the team signed was veteran pitcher Dustin May.

St. Louis signed May to a one-year, $12 million contract, and though his deal also included a mutual option for next season worth $20 million, it would've been surprising to see the Cardinals agree to it later on. The Cardinals' success this season took the league by surprise, and May was definitely part of the reason the team was playing well.

May was a valuable piece of the Cardinals' starting rotation

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 28-year-old pitcher brought consistency to the Cardinals' starting rotation, making 21 starts before the trade deadline while posting a 4.38 ERA and fanning 106 batters. May also delivered the second-most quality starts of all St. Louis pitchers this season. With the success May's had this season, it was not surprising that teams would be interested in acquiring him at the trade deadline.

Pitching is always a commodity at the trade deadline, and acquiring a productive veteran hurler on a short-term rental is appealing to plenty of teams, including the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cardinals traded May along with JoJo Romero to the Brewers to further bolster their farm system during their rebuild, bringing back prospects Alexander Frias (No. 4) and Josiah Ragsdale (No. 10).

Though his time spent in St. Louis was short, May quickly became a favorite among fans and will be missed throughout the rest of the season. The 28-year-old shared a farewell message to the Cardinals organization, stating that it was an "absolute pleasure" to be in St. Louis.

The Cardinals would be smart to continue the trend of signing veteran pitchers and trying to flip them at the trade deadline next season, considering how well things went with May. This would help St. Louis build up its farm system even faster. May's departure also opened up a spot on the Cardinals' starting rotation for Hunter Dobbins to prove himself down the stretch.