Cardinals sign former World Series champion pitcher

The St. Louis Cardinals may be rebuilding, but they still have added to their pitching rotation for 2026.

The Cardinals on Wednesday signed pitcher Dustin May to a two-year deal. May is set to earn $12 million in 2026, and there is a mutual option for 2027 for $20 million. He has a $500,000 buyout, making his total guarantee $12.5 million.

May began his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers after being drafted by them in the third round in 2016. He made it up to the majors in 2019, and won World Series championships with them in 2020 and 2024. May pitched 10.2 innings for the Dodgers in the 2020 postseason, but he missed the 2024 postseason. May missed the 2024 season entirely while recovering from elbow surgery and a freak torn esophagus injury.

May has shown plenty of promise at times during his career. He went 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA in 2020 and finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting during that shortened season. He went 4-1 with a 2.63 ERA in 2023 before suffering an elbow injury.

Last season, May pitched 132.1 total innings, which was the most of his career. He went 7-11 with a 4.96 ERA while spending time with both the Dodgers and Boston Red Sox, who had acquired him from LA in a July trade.