rockondlouie wrote: ↑17 Dec 2025 14:31 pm
Thx strummer
I could get burned by this but I think May could be a huge surprise in 2026 as long a she stays healthy.
He definitely could Bernie said he had a 3.50 ErA in 17 of his starts and was very good to good to alright in those 17 starts and was awful in the other 6 starts also said he lost 40 pounds due to the esophagus tear and last season was still pitching 20 lbs under his normal pitching weight all last season and it effected his stamina said he’s working this off season to get back to his normal pitching weight and increase his Ramona so there’s certainly reason to believe it could work out well. I think as long as he stays healthy he will be good
I want May to do well.
With his history of health, would you pick up that option even
if he had his first ever healthy season? You'd be betting on him having two in a row.
I've asked myself, difficult Q without knowing the rest of the roster.
Bernie is cherry picking to substantiate a point imo.
How great would AP 2024 look like if we did that?
It depends on a few factors for me.
Let's assume:
Doyle, Mathews, and another pitcher take a step forward next year and get a reasonable amount of innings in STL.
May pitches reasonably well. Let's say an ERA under 4. About a strike-out per inning. And pitches 150ish innings.
I think at that point, I would. Because you could backfill with youth if May gets hurt. It's still effectively a 1 year deal at that point. A pricier one, but still one that comes off the books for next year. Even with the young guys ready to take over, I still want that one guy in the rotation who's been to a few rodeos.
Now, if he turns into this year's Miles Mikolas...bye.
rockondlouie wrote: ↑17 Dec 2025 14:31 pm
Thx strummer
I could get burned by this but I think May could be a huge surprise in 2026 as long a she stays healthy.
He definitely could Bernie said he had a 3.50 ErA in 17 of his starts and was very good to good to alright in those 17 starts and was awful in the other 6 starts also said he lost 40 pounds due to the esophagus tear and last season was still pitching 20 lbs under his normal pitching weight all last season and it effected his stamina said he’s working this off season to get back to his normal pitching weight and increase his Ramona so there’s certainly reason to believe it could work out well. I think as long as he stays healthy he will be good
I want May to do well.
With his history of health, would you pick up that option even
if he had his first ever healthy season? You'd be betting on him having two in a row.
I've asked myself, difficult Q without knowing the rest of the roster.
Bernie is cherry picking to substantiate a point imo.
How great would AP 2024 look like if we did that?
In my opinion I doubt the option will ever come into play I think if he’s pitching well he will be traded at the deadline and if not then he probably still be traded at the deadline. He couldn’t definitely be injured again but I like moves like this where there is at least high upside instead of moves like mo for Lynn and Gibson where the upside is very limited
rockondlouie wrote: ↑17 Dec 2025 14:31 pm
Thx strummer
I could get burned by this but I think May could be a huge surprise in 2026 as long a she stays healthy.
He definitely could Bernie said he had a 3.50 ErA in 17 of his starts and was very good to good to alright in those 17 starts and was awful in the other 6 starts also said he lost 40 pounds due to the esophagus tear and last season was still pitching 20 lbs under his normal pitching weight all last season and it effected his stamina said he’s working this off season to get back to his normal pitching weight and increase his Ramona so there’s certainly reason to believe it could work out well. I think as long as he stays healthy he will be good
I want May to do well.
With his history of health, would you pick up that option even
if he had his first ever healthy season? You'd be betting on him having two in a row.
I've asked myself, difficult Q without knowing the rest of the roster.
Bernie is cherry picking to substantiate a point imo.
How great would AP 2024 look like if we did that?
It depends on a few factors for me.
Let's assume:
Doyle, Mathews, and another pitcher take a step forward next year and get a reasonable amount of innings in STL.
May pitches reasonably well. Let's say an ERA under 4. About a strike-out per inning. And pitches 150ish innings.
I think at that point, I would. Because you could backfill with youth if May gets hurt. It's still effectively a 1 year deal at that point. A pricier one, but still one that comes off the books for next year. Even with the young guys ready to take over, I still want that one guy in the rotation who's been to a few rodeos.
Now, if he turns into this year's Miles Mikolas...bye.
Yeah not at all clear cut.
If it is for the experience factor though he needs to show
that around the team and the team needs to be in a position
that the attributes matter.
rockondlouie wrote: ↑17 Dec 2025 14:31 pm
Thx strummer
I could get burned by this but I think May could be a huge surprise in 2026 as long a she stays healthy.
He definitely could Bernie said he had a 3.50 ErA in 17 of his starts and was very good to good to alright in those 17 starts and was awful in the other 6 starts also said he lost 40 pounds due to the esophagus tear and last season was still pitching 20 lbs under his normal pitching weight all last season and it effected his stamina said he’s working this off season to get back to his normal pitching weight and increase his Ramona so there’s certainly reason to believe it could work out well. I think as long as he stays healthy he will be good
I want May to do well.
With his history of health, would you pick up that option even
if he had his first ever healthy season? You'd be betting on him having two in a row.
I've asked myself, difficult Q without knowing the rest of the roster.
Bernie is cherry picking to substantiate a point imo.
How great would AP 2024 look like if we did that?
In my opinion I doubt the option will ever come into play I think if he’s pitching well he will be traded at the deadline and if not then he probably still be traded at the deadline. He couldn’t definitely be injured again but I like moves like this where there is at least high upside instead of moves like mo for Lynn and Gibson where the upside is very limited
TD or let walk for you I guess in best case scenario a QO?
I do too. It can be a really efficient way to build a rotation IMO.
Expecting to grow 5 guys at the same time, seem unrealistic. Even Seattle
added Castillo and one day soon all will get raises at the same time.
Buying Cease for $200M seems like potential roster sabotage.
Rentals are better in that neighborhood.
rockondlouie wrote: ↑17 Dec 2025 14:31 pm
Thx strummer
I could get burned by this but I think May could be a huge surprise in 2026 as long a she stays healthy.
I don’t think there is anybody who doesn’t think he’ll pitch pretty well, if he’s healthy. But that is the BIG question!
Will he stay healthy enough to justify 12.5 million dollars. If he’s healthy, it’s a steal, but hasn’t been to date.
The Cardinals aren’t going to spend a lot of money on next year’s team, we all know they can afford to, but they’re not going to do it. So, what little money they are willing to spend, they just spent 12.5 mil of it on a big risk. This move really looks a lot like something Mo would do. Based a move on a hope and a prayer. Let’s hope Bloom has better luck at it than Mo did.
His contract is more than I thought it would be. I'm not mad at that. If they flip him at the deadline they will pay him about 8M for whatever they get out of him. At this point, if he is healthy, he is our best pitcher.
Talkin' Baseball wrote: ↑17 Dec 2025 16:34 pm
His contract is more than I thought it would be. I'm not mad at that. If they flip him at the deadline they will pay him about 8M for whatever they get out of him. At this point, if he is healthy, he is our best pitcher.
The market is overcooked. Mid tier relief pitchers are getting 10 million dollars a year right now.
82birds wrote: ↑17 Dec 2025 14:39 pm
now, make room on the 40-man for him by releasing Roycroft.
nope.
it's Koperniak
By Darragh McDonald | December 17, 2025 at 4:40pm CDT
The Cardinals announced that outfielder Matt Koperniak has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding 40-man move for right-hander Dustin May, whose signing is now official.
82birds wrote: ↑17 Dec 2025 14:39 pm
now, make room on the 40-man for him by releasing Roycroft.
nope.
it's Koperniak
By Darragh McDonald | December 17, 2025 at 4:40pm CDT
The Cardinals announced that outfielder Matt Koperniak has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding 40-man move for right-hander Dustin May, whose signing is now official.
They must see something behind the scenes with Roycroft....I don't get it
Strummer Jones wrote: ↑17 Dec 2025 14:23 pm
1 year for 12.5m. Mutual option for 20m.
That's right about what I expected.
Yeah Matt you were pretty close. You said $10 million with $5 million on incentives and nailed the option at $20 million. I thought the $15 was too high ...so it was knocked down to $12. It's a mutual option for the $20 million and mutual options are almost never exercised. $500K buyout is very reasonable.
rockondlouie wrote: ↑17 Dec 2025 14:31 pm
Thx strummer
I could get burned by this but I think May could be a huge surprise in 2026 as long a she stays healthy.
Rock if you get burned , so do I. Him or Mahle were the 2 that I would hope they would go after. High upside, low cost options. I am going to predict he stays healthy, wins 15 games with a 3.78 ERA next year.
What the old saying, wish in one hand, ____, in the other! LOL The guy has just nasty stuff and I am rolling with the due to stay healthy factor with him. Will be fun to look back next year at this time and see how "charred" we both are.
82birds wrote: ↑17 Dec 2025 14:39 pm
now, make room on the 40-man for him by releasing Roycroft.
nope.
it's Koperniak
By Darragh McDonald | December 17, 2025 at 4:40pm CDT
The Cardinals announced that outfielder Matt Koperniak has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding 40-man move for right-hander Dustin May, whose signing is now official.
I hope Koperniak catches on somewhere and can make the bigs.
He played pretty well everywhere in the minors and never got a ML at-bat.
What is the fascination with Roycroft? He has been a catastrophe in his brief career.
82birds wrote: ↑17 Dec 2025 14:55 pm
mutual option for 2027
personally I think mutual options are a bit weird.
how often do BOTH player and team......
here's what I googled:
In baseball, a mutual option is a contract clause requiring both the team and the player to agree to extend the contract for an additional year at a predetermined salary; if either side declines, the player becomes a free agent (usually with a buyout payment owed by the team if they decline). These options are rare because players often want to test the market after good seasons, while teams might want to cut ties if a player underperforms
Generally agree - but 2027 is a wild card and it is possible BOTH would want a bit of predictability for that season.
rockondlouie wrote: ↑17 Dec 2025 14:31 pm
Thx strummer
I could get burned by this but I think May could be a huge surprise in 2026 as long a she stays healthy.
I'm bullish on the guy. Still young. Always had knock-out stuff. We didn't give much less to guys like Lynn or Gibson, and in the case of Gibson, guys who never had knock-out stuff.
Worst case scenario, he's a bum and/or can't stay healthy and he's gone by this time next year.
Unlike Lance and Kyle, Mays got upside left in his young career.
Low Risk/High reward move.
I love it!
Agreed.
And, the move confirms what I have been saying for months - Bloom is NOT willing to throw away the 2026 season.
