Feb 14, 2026; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Dustin May (3) arrives for a workout during spring training at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

What Brought Flamethrower Dustin May to Cardinals

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Mar 25, 2026 1:00 PM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals entered the offseason looking to add some pitching and did so with one of the most intriguing free agents out there.

St. Louis struck quickly in free agency and signed 28-year-old flamethrower Dustin May. The 6'6'' righty was one of the youngest starting pitchers available in free agency. He made his big league debut all the way back in 2019. When healthy, May has front-of-the-rotation upside. The thing that has been unfortunate for him is the fact that he hasn't been able to stay consistently healthy. Between the 2019 and 2023 seasons, he made just 46 total appearances, although he did log a 3.10 ERA. He set a new career high in 2025 with 132 1/3 innings pitched for the Dodgers and Boston Red Sox and had a 4.96 ERA. Now, he has another year under his belt removed from missing the 2024 season.

He looked good in Spring Training and had a 1.54 ERA in three appearances. If the Cardinals can keep him healthy, he could very well end up being the steal of the offseason on just a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2027.

The Cardinals flamethrower has looked great

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

One thing that should give Cardinals fans hope is the fact that May attributed St. Louis' medical staff as one of the biggest reasons he came to town this offseason, while joining Foul Territory.

"The process that really stuck out to me was the medical staff here for the Cardinals," May said. "They had all the trust and the thought and the ability to keep me healthy and they would really do whatever I needed to keep me on my regiment and be able to get through the year fully healthy and feel good coming out of it being stronger and healthier throughout the year and not breaking down.

"They laid out some plans and stuff on what they did in the past and it really just meshed with kind of what I was going through the last couple of years and on the pitching side, I felt like me and Dusty had a really good kind of bridge between what I wanted to work on in the offseason and what he thought I needed to work on. We were really Yin and Yang with that. That was a big contributor, too.

If May has confidence in the medical staff, that should give St. Louis fans hope. Throughout Spring Training, he showed a blistering fastball near 100 miles per hour and showed a much-improved curveball as well. He has been healthy and has looked like the version of himself that was a big-time prospect over in Los Angeles. If the Cardinals can keep him healthy, there's no reason why he cannot step into the role left by Sonny Gray this offseason.

This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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