The St. Louis Cardinals signed Dustin May over the winter, and this weekend, he got his first experience with Cardinal Nation at the annual Cardinals Winter Warm-Up. May said that he sat down with fans in the lobby of his hotel over the weekend, saying that the fans were welcoming and he is excited to be in St. Louis.
May has pitched in parts of six MLB seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox, with a career ERA of 3.86 in 71 appearances. May showed promise during his rookie campaign in the shortened 2020 season, but he has since been dealing with major injuries, including missing all of 2024 after under going emercency esophagus surgery. Speaking with May about his offseason, the 6'6" right-hander said, "I'm very excited to go into spring training fully healthy, fully ready to go, being fully built up. Having a full, healthy offseason has been great for my body."
May's injury history may be a concern for the Cardinals, but this is a team that had a season with no arm injuries to its pitching staff. May said that it was a piece of the puzzle when going through free agency this winter, saying, "The Cardinals team really made that a huge effort to push forward like 'Hey, we have a pretty good track record of this,' and I was very excited to hear that." May said that it was one of the points discussed during the first call with his new club.
The Cardinals right-hander was dubbed "Gingergaard" early in his career due to his long red hair, but when asked about the nickname, he said, "I'm not going to lie to you, I absolutely hate Gingergaard. It's one of the worst ones I've ever heard," providing a good laugh to the room as May settles into his new home.
May, despite not being 30 years old yet, is going to be the headlining veteran in the Cardinals' rotation this upcoming season, which he expressed his excitement for a new adventure, wanting to help the Cardinals' young staff grow, and share his experiences in Major League Baseball. The Cardinals staff will have to come together as a group and lean on each other through the season, and May is ready to step up and be that rock that guys can lean on.
While May's career has been rocky, he has flashed potential throughout, and after being relatively healthy last season and staying healthy in the winter, he is looking to bounce back and return to the top of his game this season in St. Louis. You can hear the full interview with the Cardinals right-hander from Winter Warm-Up on the STL Sports Central YouTube channel.