Brewers reportedly acquire SP Dustin May from rival Cardinals after missing out on Tarik Skubal

After missing out on Tarik Skubal, the Milwaukee Brewers have reportedly swung a deal to bolster their rotation.

Per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the Brewers acquired veteran starter Dustin May and reliever Jo Jo Romero from the rival St. Louis Cardinals Monday, hours before MLB’s 6 p.m. ET trade deadline. The return on the deal was not initially reported.

May, 28, is a seventh-season MLB veteran who won a World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020. The Dodgers traded him at last season’s deadline to the Boston Red Sox, and May joined the Cardinals as a free agent last offseason on a one-year, $12.5 million deal.

The Brewers made the deal after failing to acquire Skubal, the two-time Cy Young winner whom Milwaukee reportedly coveted. Skubal instead went from the Detroit Tigers to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee’s top rival in the National League.

In 21 starts this season, May has a 4.38 ERA and 1.284 WHIP with 106 strikeouts and 35 walks in 109 innings pitch. He bolsters the rotation for a Brewers team that entered Monday with the best record in baseball at 69-42 and has its sights set on competing for a World Series title.

The Brewers are considered the top challengers in the NL to the two-time reigning champion Dodgers, who swept Milwaukee in last season’s NLCS.

This story will be updated.