The Milwaukee Brewers are adding two arms from the St. Louis Cardinals, with starting pitcher Dustin May and reliever JoJo Romero headed to Milwaukee in a Monday deal, a league source told The Athletic. The return for the Cardinals has not yet been reported.
For May, the move marks another stop in a stretch that’s already included a deadline trade before. He was sent from the Dodgers to the Boston Red Sox last year when Los Angeles was trying to clear out pitching depth, and that run in Boston didn’t go smoothly. May finished the regular season with a 5.40 ERA over 28 1/3 innings.
St. Louis rolled the dice on him anyway, signing him to a one-year contract to help stabilize a rotation that was young and short on experience. The Cardinals’ hope was clear: let May take the ball, then turn him into upper-level prospects at this year’s deadline as part of an effort to move the rebuild under Chaim Bloom along more quickly.
Romero gives Milwaukee a different kind of piece. He’ll turn 30 in September and is set to become a free agent after the season, but he’s been a steady late-inning option for St.
Louis. He made 65 appearances in each of the last two seasons, and he also has closing experience, including most of the second half of last year.
This season, Romero logged 44 outings for the Cardinals and posted a 3.35 ERA while striking out a batter per inning. Now he joins what has already been one of the National League’s strongest pitching staffs, giving the Brewers another high-leverage option.
In Other News...
Brandon Sproat Just Put His Brewers Role In Real Jeopardy
Brandon Sproats night turned rough in a hurry, and the Brewers were left trying to dig out of a hole before they ever got a real chance to settle in. Sproat allowed multiple runs and had trouble finding the strike zone, forcing Milwaukee to turn the game over to Garrett Stallings, who steadied things with three scoreless innings and gave the lineup a chance to rally.
The Brewers did push back with some scoring in the fifth and sixth innings, but the deficit Sproat created was too much to erase. More than the loss itself, the outing raised a bigger question for Milwaukee: a pitcher trying to carve out a role in a crowded staff cant afford nights like this, and Sproats place in the rotation and even on the roster may now be in real doubt. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Rotation Squeeze May Force A Tough Connor Sproat Decision
The Brewers pitching depth has suddenly become a lot less theoretical. After acquiring Dustin May and with Kyle Harrison expected back from the injured list, Milwaukee is looking at a rotation logjam that would be a good problem to have if not for the fact that there are only so many starts to go around. Connor Sproat is right in the middle of that squeeze, and his latest outing only sharpened the conversation about where he fits.
In his recent start, Sproat gave up four runs in three-plus innings, a rough line at a time when the Brewers are trying to sort out their long-term mix on the mound. Pat Murphy and the teams decision-makers are expected to meet with Sproat soon to talk through the next steps, and the discussion figures to be as much about opportunity as it is about performance. For a club trying to balance immediate needs with keeping its arms lined up, this is the kind of choice that can shape the rest of the pitching plan. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Pushed Hard For Tarik Skubal But Still Lost Out
The Brewers spent real energy trying to land Tarik Skubal, making a strong push with a three-prospect offer in hopes of bringing the Detroit ace to Milwaukee. Instead, the Dodgers came in with a package that Detroit preferred, and the trade moved on without the Brewers, a reminder of how quickly the market can turn when a premium pitcher is available.
Brewers officials did not hide their disappointment, though they also treated the negotiations as the kind of complicated process that often stays partially behind closed doors. Manager Pat Murphy and president of baseball operations Matt Arnold both underscored how aggressively the club went after Skubal, a sign the Brewers were willing to make a meaningful swing even if the final cost never became public. [Read more 🡒]