Chaim Bloom Explains Cardinals' Dustin May Splash In Free Agency

The St. Louis Cardinals have been clear throughout the offseason so far that they wanted to add pitching this offseason. That need was only amplified as the team traded Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox before the winter meetings.

Now, the club has at least one solution. The Cardinals officially announced the signing of veteran starting pitcher Dustin May to a one-year deal with a mutual option for the 2027 season on Wednesday. On top of this, Cardinals president of baseball operations, Chaim Bloom, commented on the addition, as transcribed by MLB.com's Jared Greenspan and John Denton.

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"A Cardinals team hoping to supplement its young pitching staff with an experienced veteran has signed 6-foot-6 right-hander Dustin May to a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2027, the club announced Wednesday," Greenspan and Denton wrote. "Financial terms of the deal were not announced.

The Cardinals made a good move

St. Louis Cardinals executive Chaim Bloom — Aug 28, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Chaim Bloom, Chief Baseball Officer of the Boston Red Sox on the field before the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

“It’s exciting to add someone with Dustin’s talent and upside to our rotation,” Bloom said. “He’s already experienced pitching in and winning the World Series, as well as persevering through difficult injuries to return to health on a big league mound. We are happy that he will write the next chapter of his career here in St. Louis.”

Out of the veteran pitchers out there on the open market, May was someone who made a whole lot of sense. He's young enough and showed enough early on in his career to bet on a big turnaround. With that being said, he's not very expensive at this point due to his injuries, with ESPN's Jeff Passan reporting that May will get $12.5 million in 2026.

May is just 28 years old and won't turn 29 until September. Health has always been a question for him. From 2019 through 2023, he made just 46 total appearances with the Los Angeles Dodgers. On the bright side, though, he had a 3.10 ERA overall that span. His best season was in 2020. That year, he had a 2.57 ERA in 12 appearances -- including 10 starts.

May has shown legit front-of-the-rotation stuff. Now, it's a matter of the Cardinals getting him on track and keeping him healthy.

More MLB: Cardinals Cut Ties With 27-Year-Old To Make Room For Dustin May