Cardinals swayed Dustin May in free agency with unique sales pitch

When the St. Louis Cardinals signed Dustin May in the offseason, it was a clear indication that they were targeting a new type of arm moving forward.

In the draft and trades they had made in the months prior and since, the Cardinals have targeted arms with high velocity, elite stuff, and more upside than they traditionally have. But doing so in free agency, even on a one-year deal for someone like May, was a real jump from the safe, innings-eater arms the Cardinals have gone after in the past.

May appeared on Foul Territory this week and was asked about what drew him to St. Louis, and he pointed directly to their pitch to keep him healthy and their desire to help him bring back a pitch that it sounds like the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox shyed away from.

Dustin May was drawn to the Cardinals' desire to help him with his curveball and keep him healthy

At Winter Warm-Up earlier this offseason, I asked May how much the Cardinals' recent track record of keeping starting pitchers healthy was a selling point to him, and he was quick to mention their pitch to him in free agency and how the medical staff contributed to that process. The Cardinals have caught the eyes of opposing teams for their care of arms recently, though many of those starters did not possess the kind of stuff that May has, which historically contributes to more arm injuries.

May's comments about his curveball are very interesting. May has not had the pitch as a part of his arsenal since 2019, and adding that pitch back alongside some offseason tinkering with his change-up could give him multiple new weapons to pair with his devastating sweeper. In 2025, May's sweeper had the highest spin rate of any pitch in baseball, and it's the pitch that induces the most swing and miss for him.

May had a strong camp with St. Louis that included a return to the velocity he had on the mound earlier in his career. May pitched the 2025 campaign 20 to 30 pounds below his normal playing weight after an emergency esophageal surgery the year prior, and he finally seems to be back to full health and ready to roll on the mound.

The right-hander is slated to make his first start for the Cardinals today against the Tampa Bay Rays, and the hope is that he posts a strong first half that makes him a prime trade candidate at this year's trade deadline.