Cardinals pitcher Dustin May posted a 4.55 ERA over 18 starts before the All-Star break. Rick Scuteri / Imagn Images
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The St. Louis Cardinals on Monday dealt starting pitcher Dustin May and reliever JoJo Romero to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Class-A outfielder Alexander Frías and Double-A outfielder Josiah Ragsdale are coming to St. Louis in the return. Both minor leaguers are considered top 30 prospects.
This is familiar territory for May, who was traded from the Dodgers to the Boston Red Sox at last year’s deadline, with the Dodgers looking to offload pitching depth. That trade didn’t go well for May — he posted a 5.40 ERA over 28 1/3 innings to close out the regular season.
But the Cardinals took a flier on May and signed him to a one-year deal to anchor a young and inexperienced rotation. The hope for St. Louis was that they’d be able to flip him at this year’s deadline for upper-level prospects, ideally to further expedite the first year of Chaim Bloom’s rebuild.
Romero, who turns 30 in September, will be a free agent at the end of the season. He’s been both a serviceable and reliable back-end reliever, making 65 appearances in both 2024 and 2025. He also has closing experience, including most of the second half of last season.
Through 44 outings this year for St. Louis, Romero had a 3.35 ERA while averaging a strikeout per inning. He’ll be yet another high-leverage arm for one of the National League’s best pitching staffs.
As Bloom attempts to rebuild the Cardinals farm system, stocking up on prospects remains the goal for St. Louis. Milwaukee, on the other hand, adds two strong arms to fortify its staff as the Brewers look to wrap up their fifth division title in the past six seasons.
Aug 4, 2026
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