The Milwaukee Brewers bolster their depleted rotation and bullpen by snagging two veteran arms from a division rival.
The National League Central has gotten a lot better as of Monday, August 3, while the Milwaukee Brewers finally made their first move.
In a shocking divisional transaction, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported that the St. Louis Cardinals have sent right-handed pitcher Dustin May and left-handed reliever Jo Jo Romero to the Brewers.
Milwaukee knew they needed to add a starter, reliever, and potentially a bat or two at the deadline. With some of the best options off the table, they resorted to an old division rival to pull off a deal that sends a starter and reliever to Milwaukee.
While this is no Luke Weaver or Kevin Gausman, it's certainly something. The Brewers at least made a move; now it's just a matter of what else transpires today.
May is a solid starter for Milwaukee to acquire
Without Brandon Woodruff and Quinn Priester, it was going to be nearly impossible for this Brewers team to make a deep run. They went out and got 28-year-old Dustin May, someone who is 5-7 this season with a 4.38 ERA.
He's a solid strikeout guy, as he's got 106 of those here in 2026 to go along with his 1.28 WHIP.
Overall, he's a 0.7 WAR player, so that gives the Brewers a lot to be excited about. He's already started 21 games this season, and is now set to pitch for his fourth team since 2025.
At the very least, he's not a true rental as he doesn't become an unrestricted free agent until 2028.
Romero is on the 15-day Injured List
Brewers fans need to realize the reliever they got is currently injured, but he's expected to be back by mid-August. From what the Cardinals got out of him in 2026, he's a really solid lefty for the Brewers to have join this bullpen.
The 29-year-old has already appeared in 44 games this season, and he's a 0.7 WAR player, the same as May. His 3.35 ERA is up from the 2.07 it was a year ago, but he carries a strong 2.7 K/BB ratio and only has a career 3.51 ERA dating back to 2020.
What did the Brewers have to give up?
MLB.com's Adam McCalvy has revealed what the Brewers needed to give up, and it's a pair of interesting prospects.
No. 11 Alexander Frias and No. 13 Josiah Ragsdale are heading to St. Louis, according to his source.
Both are outfielders, which the Brewers have a surplus of, but it'll be interesting to see how this works out in the long run, especially knowing May could only be in Milwaukee for the 2026 season.
