Dean Kremer trade gives Cardinals every reason to hold out for more on Dustin May

The St. Louis Cardinals signed Dustin May in order to trade him at this deadline, but the question everyone has been asking is: for how much? Well, based on what the Baltimore Orioles just got for Dean Kremer, I think his value is higher than some may expect.

The Orioles swung a trade with the Minnesota Twins on Friday, sending right-hander Dean Kremer to Minnesota for outfield prospect Jhomnardo Reyes. Kremer has one year of team control remaining after this season, but he already makes $5.75 million in arbitration and has been bad this year. In seven starts, Kremer has a 6.50 ERA, and for his career, he has been a pretty average back-of-the-rotation starter at best.

Now, believe it or not, players like that do carry value, especially for teams in need of innings. But for the Twins to acquire him, it cost them the number 12 prospect in their system, according to Baseball America, in Reyes, who has broken out in a big way this year with his loud tools that could translate into big-time production if the Orioles can continue molding him.

Reyes, who is just 18, stands at 6'3 with 60-grade power and arm tools to go around with above-average speed and fielding ability. The biggest question mark is his hit tool, but that's the kind of upside you want to bet on, and in return for Kremer, it feels like a big win for Baltimore.

If that is what Kremer can get in this market, then the Cardinals should be positioned to extract quite a bit more for Dustin May.

Dustin May's trade value should be high when the Cardinals trade him

In my bold predictions for the trade deadline earlier today, I said I thought May would bring back more value for the Cardinals than the Jordan Montgomery trade appeared to at the time back in 2023, and I feel even better about that prediction now.

In 21 starts for the Cardinals this year, May has posted a 4.38 ERA and 3.14 FIP while striking out 23.1% of the batters he has faced. He's already hit his career high in fWAR (2.6) and will soon surpass his career high in innings of 132.1, and he's doing so in a way that looks very sustainable.

In fact, his 4.38 ERA is not all that fair to the pitcher he has been this year. We can't take away the bad starts, but it is worth noting that May has allowed two or fewer runs in 12 of his 21 starts (57%), while having three starts in which he has allowed six or more earned runs. Again, not a good thing to have on your resume, but it speaks to how most of the time this year, May has been a very good pitcher.

That success is not flukey either. It has coincided with the return of May's big-time velocity this season, much-improved strikeout and walk percentages, and getting some more whiffs and chases on his pitches. No one is trying to sell you on him being a front-line starter, but he is for sure a middle-of-the-rotation arm who can be in a playoff rotation.

That has real value at this trade deadline.

With the Red Sox, Twins, Astros, Rangers, Padres, and Pirates all choosing to buy instead of sell after all six teams were highly considered to be sellers at various points this year, this means there are far fewer arms available on the open market. Sure, Tarik Skubal is going to be the class of the deadline, but only a few teams can realistically trade for him. Almost every contender would love to have a Dustin May in their rotation, and the Cardinals can use that desperation to add value to a trade package.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow