The St. Louis Cardinals have reached a one-year contract agreement with former Dodgers and Red Sox starting right-handed pitcher Dustin May.

Sources close to the talks revealed that the Cardinals, aiming to bolster their youthful pitching rotation with a seasoned player, reached an agreement today with the 1.98-meter former Dodgers/Red Sox starting right-hander Dustin May, with the team yet to announce the deal officially.

The 28-year-old May pitched last season for both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox, appearing in 25 games (23 starts), recording a 7-11 win-loss record with a 4.96 ERA. The Red Sox acquired May at the trade deadline, but he posted a 5.40 ERA and struggled with forearm soreness throughout September.

Having missed the entire 2024 season due to arm injuries, May struck out 123 batters over 132.1 innings this year — the highest single-season innings total of his six-year major league career so far.

The Cardinals currently have a 40-man roster, and once May’s signing is finalized, the team will need to make roster adjustments. They plan to consider him for the starting rotation alongside Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, Andre Pallante, Kyle Leahy, and Richard Fitts.

On November 25, the St. Louis Cardinals acquired Richard Fitts and left-handed pitching prospect Brandon Clarke from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for veteran starting right-hander Sonny Gray.

May’s professional journey began in 2019 when he debuted as one of the Dodgers’ top rookies at age 21, and since then, he has taken a long and challenging path.

When May made his season debut this April, it was his first appearance on a major league mound in nearly two years. He had been sidelined from all levels of competition for 648 days, during which he underwent flexor tendon surgery (his second major elbow operation) as well as emergency surgery for an esophageal tear.

As long as May stays healthy, he still possesses considerable potential, starting with his pitch repertoire. His slider is his preferred weapon against both left- and right-handed hitters for good reason: it features exceptional horizontal movement, averaging 42.9 centimeters. This pairs well with his sinker, which averages 48.0 centimeters of movement in the opposite direction—creating a mirror-image displacement different from his slider. May generates such extreme horizontal movement from a relatively low release point.

May also throws a four-seam fastball and a cutter, giving him a three-pitch fastball mix, which aligns with the recent trend in modern pitching aimed at deceiving hitters.

Before requiring ligament reconstruction surgery in May 2021, May had shown the potential to become a true star. His ERA over his first 31 career appearances was 2.93, and he was a key member of the Dodgers’ 2020 World Series championship team.