The Milwaukee Brewers are still in a strong position to lock down a postseason spot and hold command of the National League Central, with a real shot at finishing with the best record in Major League Baseball for a second straight year.
But their trade-deadline pitching moves have not all landed the way they hoped.
JoJo Romero is back after dealing with an appendix issue, but Dustin May has not given Milwaukee the kind of lift it was looking for after landing him from the St. Louis Cardinals. Dayn Perry of CBS Sports pointed to the move as one of the biggest deadline misses a month later.
"Acquired from the division-rival Cardinals at significant cost, May, a pending free agent, has not delivered so far as a Brewer," Perry wrote. "In five post-trade starts, May has put up an ERA of 6.41 in five trips to the mound since the trade, and he's averaged less than five innings per start over that span.
The stuff and underlying fundamentals with the Cardinals were strong, so this is probably just the small sample size at work. As well, the Brewers are a pitching-forward organization - one of the best at such things.
Thus far, though, May hasn't been the fortifying addition they hoped he'd be. "
May’s numbers in Milwaukee have done little to quiet the concern. The 28-year-old right-hander is 6-9 with a 4.69 ERA on the season, and he has not matched the version of himself the Brewers were hoping to get when they made the deal.
St. Louis signed May to a one-year, $12.5 million contract last offseason with a mutual option for 2027. Based on how he has pitched, it looks unlikely Milwaukee will be eager to pick up its side of that option when the season ends.
Before the trade, May was 5-7 with a 4.38 ERA for the Cardinals. Since arriving in Milwaukee, he has simply not been able to recreate even that level of production.
That kind of adjustment at the deadline is nothing new. Players can struggle after a midseason move, especially when everything changes so quickly around them.
For the Brewers, though, the timing makes it more than just a passing issue. They wanted May to help stabilize the rotation, and so far that hasn’t happened. If the struggles continue, it could even put his place on the postseason roster in jeopardy.
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The matchup gets more interesting because Pivettas fly-ball tendencies run against a Brewers lineup that has generally done its best work driving the ball on the ground and making pitchers defend the whole field. Milwaukee will have to decide whether to stay with that approach or make more direct adjustments against his shape, with a few key bats likely carrying a lot of the burden if the Brewers are going to finish the job against San Diego. [Read more 🡒]