What should Cardinals do with Dustin May at trade deadline?

The St. Louis Cardinals are being faced with some tough decisions in the coming weeks. This is a team that was expected to rebuild rather than contend, only to find a way to do both at the same time.

They have four main trade chips at the Aug. 3 deadline, but if they keep playing solid baseball, what to do with those players becomes less clear. Their biggest question mark is starting pitcher Dustin May, who signed a one-year, $12.5 million contract to join the team last offseason.

Despite a rough start on Sunday against the Kansas City Royals, May recently threw a complete-game shutout against the San Diego Padres. But the Cardinals are now faced with a tough decision. Do they keep May and hope to re-sign him in the offseason, or do they trade him and recoup some value?

The case to keep Dustin May

May is 5-6 with a 4.30 ERA this season in 15 starts, though the numbers don't tell the full story with him. He has proven to be a reliable source of innings for the Cardinals this season in the absence of Sonny Gray, and without May leading the rotation, the Cardinals might be in a much different position.

If the Cardinals stay in contention, then keeping May around makes sense. If the Cardinals are going to reach the postseason, they will need a veteran around the team, and May is the perfect pitcher to help guide some of the younger arms as they prepare for the stretch run.

He might be their best choice to start Game 1 of a postseason series given his experience, so it would be good for the Cardinals to have that type of pitcher in the rotation.

The case to trade Dustin May

While a case can be made to keep May, a case can also be made to trade him. He is on an expiring contract this year, so capitalizing on that value while they still can would be a wise choice for the Cardinals, even if they are in contention. He does have a mutual option for 2027, but those are rarely exercised, so chances are he will re-enter free agency.

The Cardinals didn't sign May for him to be their Game 1 starter. They signed him as a bounce-back candidate hoping they could get something for him at the trade deadline.

Starting pitching is always in high demand at the deadline, so even though May's ERA is north of four, other contending teams might be willing to overpay for him, and if the right offer comes, Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom would be wise to take it.

What makes the most sense?

While strong cases can be made for both sides of the argument, the best choice for the Cardinals is to trade May at the deadline. While they have been playing well, they cannot lose sight of their ultimate goal. They must stay true to their rebuild.

They still could use some more pitching depth in the minor leagues, and trading somebody like May might be a good way for them to add that to their mix.

Bloom himself has also stated that he wants to stay true to the long-term goals.

"There was not a point where we didn't want to win or expect to win. We were just going to be willing to make those hard decisions to get us towards our ultimate goal, and not put gratification today ahead of that," Bloom said in May.

"When they do tug in opposite directions, we're going to choose that ultimate goal."

The Cardinals could always stand pat at the deadline, but the focus still should be on the future, and the best way they can keep the focus there and stay true to their plan is to trade players on expiring contracts, and that includes May.

It will be interesting to see what Bloom is thinking at the deadline, but he has been honest about his plans and doesn't seem to want to deviate from them.

That also seems to be the most likely outcome, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.