Top Landing Spots For Free Agent Dustin May

It has been a turbulent last couple of years for Dustin May, to say the least. From dealing with Tommy John surgery in 2021, flexor tendon surgery in 2023, and tearing his esophagus in July of ’23, it’s been quite the journey to get to where he is today.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen May at his absolute best. To date, his best season was the shortened 2020 COVID season, where he finished the year with a 2.57 ERA in 10 starts.

May began this past season in Los Angeles with the Dodgers, his first time back in the big leagues after missing all of 2024. In the month of April, he got things started off on the right foot. The right-hander made five starts and posted a 3.95 ERA with just one home run allowed all month.

The next couple of months saw him regress a bit, and his ERA steadily climbed. But he was still turning in quality starts and keeping the Dodgers in games. Through the month of May he also struck out over 11 batters per nine innings, which was a nice change of pace for a pitcher who usually exclusively relies on groundball outs.

May was traded to the Boston Red Sox at the 2025 trade deadline in exchange for a pair of prosects: outfielders James Tibbs III and Zach Ehrhard.

Now, May is a free agent for the first time in his career. He’s coming off of a season in which he posted “just okay” numbers, appearing in a total of 25 games (easily the most of his career) between the Dodgers and Red Sox. 23 of those games were starts, and 10 of them resulted in quality starts.

While May is not a perfect pitcher – as shown by his 4.96 ERA – he is someone who can eat up innings for a team when health is on his side. When the Dodgers were dealing with numerous pitching injuries early in 2025, he was able to step in and help stabilize their rotation.

Free Agent Profile: Dustin May

• Age in 2026: 29 years old
  
• 2025 Stats: 25 G (23 GS), 132.1 IP, 4.96 ERA, 4.88 FIP, 8.4 K/9, 0.8 fWAR
  
• 2025 Salary: $2.1 million
  
• Received Qualifying Offer: No
  

Contract Projection

• Contract Length Expectation: 1-2 Years
  
• Expected AAV: $12-18 Million

This expected amount may shock some people with his track record and previous performances. May is still only 28 and has shown himself to be someone who, when healthy, can turn in quality starts as a back-of-the-rotation starter. There’s plenty of value in that in today’s game.

May did struggle a bit after the trade to Boston, posting a 5.40 ERA, but most teams should look past it and focus more on his season as a whole when considering signing him.

Free Agent Landing Spots For Dustin May

Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore’s starting rotation last season was one of the worst in baseball. With a combined team ERA of 4.62, pitching is definitely an area of much-needed improvement for this team.

With the recent renovations to the Orioles’ ballpark, they have tried to allow it to play to their strengths, leading to it becoming a slightly more pitcher-friendly park. Even with these improvements, they still haven’t addressed the issue of the players who are throwing the ball.

With the recent trade of Grayson Rodriguez to the Angels for Taylor Ward, they now need another arm more than ever. The Orioles have handed out one-year contracts to veterans in the past, like Charlie Morton last year.

The Orioles have the cap space to do it and are looking to get back into the playoff hunt for next year. To achieve this, they need to swing for the fences on players to see if they can pay off, and Dustin May can be that guy for them.

Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals finished this past season with a 66-96 record, which was the third-worst in all of baseball.

Their pitching staff was a big problem, as their team ERA was 5.35, second-worst in the league. For a team that has plenty of young up-and-coming talent, what they need are established pitchers to help give their team stability on the mound and eat up innings.

May can easily come to this team and give them an innings eater they could desperately use. While there’s some cause for concern in the fact that the 132 innings he threw in 2025 was a career-high, he would’ve had the fourth-highest WAR on the Nationals for pitchers (min. 100 IP).

The Nationals also have the cap space to add him, and if they want to begin winning games, sometimes you have to take risks and sign the lottery-ticket type of players.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays are known for taking in pitchers and being able to revitalize their careers. They have done this before with guys like Eflin and Morton.

The Rays’ pitching staff was a strong point for them last year, but what they lacked was a back-end starter toward the end of the season. After trading Zack Littell to the Cincinnati Reds, the Rays really didn’t have a set five-man rotation past the deadline.

With notable names like Pete Fairbanks and Adrian Houser available on the open market, May could be someone they look to to fill the spot Littell/Houser left behind. This is especially underscored by the fact that Shane McClanahan will be returning from a major surgery of his own, and Shane Baz struggled in a full 31-start season in 2025. May’s not a guarantee to come in and anchor this rotation, but his presence could certainly help.

Texas Rangers

May, who is from Texas, grew up just 40 minutes from Arlington, home of the Rangers. There is something to be said about a player who wants to go home, and it may be the best thing for him.

Texas’ pitching staff last season was one of the best in baseball, finishing with a combined team ERA of 3.49 and allowing teams to hit only .227 against them. Spearheaded by pitchers like Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi, as well as young arms in Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker, there is a ton of potential for them to keep growing as a pitching staff.

The Rangers are a team that has a chance to make great strides forward next season after a somewhat disappointing year this past season. And with turnover expected in the pitching staff, don’t be surprised if they take a shot at the Texas native in May.

San Diego Padres

The Padres are in win-now mode. They have been more and more aggressive in recent years and are a team that is not afraid to spend money.

After this season, they are a team that is going to be looking for an end-of-the-rotation starter with playoff experience to help them improve on this past season.

The Padres have a couple of free agent starters like Dylan Cease and Michael King, and if they can’t bring them back, they are going to be in a tough situation at starting pitcher. May is not someone who will be an outright replacement for either of these high-end arms, but he’ll at least be able to fill the void a bit in case they can’t find someone of equal caliber on the market at an affordable price range.