Padres Have Interest In Dustin May As Rotation Quest Continues

The San Diego Padres have some significant starting pitching needs, and that prompted them to check out free agent starter Dustin May at the GM meetings this week, per a report from Charlie Wright of MLBTradeRumors.com. 

It’s a logical move that makes sense given that May is an intriguing candidate. He’s a 29-year old who combines velocity with an effective array of pitches, and when May is on his game the results can be devastating to opposing hitters. 

The problem is May’s inconsistency, along with his intermittent struggles with injuries. The Padres aren’t the only teams who have interest, though, with John Morosi of MLB Network naming the Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox as other teams potentially kicking the tires on the right-hander. 

May had some success this year after landing on the market prior to the seasno, and he wound signing a one-year deal for $12.5 million with the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cards signed May to be an innings eater, and he was able to do just that, pitching 109 innings for St. Louis and posting an ERA of 4.38 with 106 strikeouts. 

The Padres found out just how devastating May can be when they visited St. Louis on June 15. May pitched a one-hitter that was also a rare complete game, and he struck out nine along the way. The 3-0 win elevated May’s record to 5-6 while lowering his ERA to 3.75 at the time, and it looked like the Cardinals had found something.  

But St. Louis fell out of contention after that, and May became a trade deadline casualty. The Cardinals dealt him to the Milwaukee Brewers, but his ERA ballooned to 5.65 in Milwaukee, and while he did pitch in several postseason games, May didn’t have much luck as his postseason ERA was 5.73, 

The velocity is still there for May, but walks have been a problem, and May often gets hit hard when his command is off. 

But some team will gamble on him, especially given how thin the market for starters is right now. It won’t happen until starter Tarik Skubal ha been signed, but that could set off a series of moves that would allow May to land somewhere. 

He’s actually a better gamble for the Padres than most of what they brought in this season. His ceiling at this point in his career is likely as a back-of-the-rotation starter who can pitch 100+ innings, but there’s plenty of potential there if a team like the Padres can unlock it.