By MATT PIKE
With the Major League Baseball trade deadline on the horizon at 5pm, the St. Louis Cardinals have traded pitchers Dustin May and JoJo Romero to the Milwaukee Brewers for two prospects.
The Brewers, who fell short in the sweepstakes for Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, were searching for pitching to fortify their starting rotation anchored by young ace Jacob Misiorowski. In return for May and Romero, the Brewers are sending two outfielders Alexander Frias, Milwaukee's No. 11 prospect and Josiah Ragsdale, the Brewers No. 13 prospect, to St. Louis.
Ragsdale, Milwaukee's seventh round pick last season, has been having a huge first full minor league season, hitting .316/.441/.581 with 19 home runs and 31 steals between High-A and Double-A. Ragsdale has a very patient approach that has led to a lot of walks but also some strikeout issues that could be an issue against higher level pitching. Frias meanwhile has a lot of potential, most recently being called up after doing well in the complex league to the Brewer's Low A, where he batted .236/.328/.418 in 28 games.
May’s time in St. Louis got off to a rocky starts to open 2026, but his next dozen starts produced a sterling 2.54 ERA. May averaged 6.19 innings per start over that stretch. Romero meanwhile, has been on the 15-day IL since July 17th, but he played catch last week and should be ready to pitch for the Brewers by the end of this month. Since arriving in St. Louis from Philadelphia in a trade for Edmundo Sosa in 2022, Romero has been a late-game relief mainstay for the Cardinals from the left side.
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