Extend or Trade? Where Things Stand With Cardinals, Dustin May

The St. Louis Cardinals will have a decision to make with Dustin May this summer.

Jun 15, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Dustin May (3) reacts after striking out San Diego Padres first baseman Ty France (not pictured) to end the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals welcomed old friend Nolan Arenado to town on Monday night as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was a good night overall at Busch Stadium. The former Cardinals star was back in the building and St. Louis came out on top. What else could you ask for?

All in all, the Cardinals have been a fun team to follow over the course of the 2026 season because they are young, exciting, are seemingly never out of a contest. There have been breakout performances all over the place, like Jordan Walker and JJ Wetherholt on offense. On the pitching side, Dustin May has been lights-out, for the most part, and has made the Cardinals' front office look very smart for investing in him in free agency this past offseason. When the Cardinals signed May, questions immediately surfaced about whether he could be traded this summer. That topic has followed May all season to this point. There has been so much noise that the buzz around May isn't even just about trading him, but whether or not the Cardinals should give him an extension. While this is the case, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch certainly made it sound like a trade will come.

Will Dustin May Be On The Move?

Jun 15, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Dustin May (3) reacts after throwing a complete game one hitter against the San Diego Padres at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

"I think there could be a good debate on whether he’s the starter to build around or if that starter has yet to emerge this summer as July approaches," Goold wrote. "The Cardinals seem really committed to following through on their plan for this season. That does include trading May. That could include having Hunter Dobbins ready to move into that spot when/if May is traded. What winning allows the Cardinals to do is raise the asking price."

It's not hard to see why the speculation is out there. May is 28 years old and is having a bounce-back season in St. Louis. He's 28 years old and has a 4.30 ERA in 15 starts this season. That number was at 3.75 before a bad start on Sunday against the Kansas City Royals in which he allowed six earned runs.

The season has been good overall and St. Louis is winning games.

With the win, the Cardinals are now 42-34 on the season. The fact that St. Louis is eight games above .500 on June 23 is shocking, to say the least. But it's how St. Louis has been playing all season. This hasn't been a fluke. It's not as if the club is riding some long winning streak right now. St. Louis has been consistently good all season.

There have been a few rough patches, but the Cardinals turned things around each time. Right now is another example, the Cardinals had lost three straight games before concluding their weekend series against the Royals with a win on Sunday. Then, the Cardinals followed up with another win on Monday.

Still, right now the most likely answer seems to be a May trade.