Dustin May is a 28-year-old grandfather.
OK, not really. But it can feel that way for the right-hander amid the Cardinals' youthful starting rotation, which contains no one older than 28.
"It's definitely a big role change for me, coming over here -- being one of the young guys to basically like the grandpa on the team," he said.
Back in 2020 with the Dodgers, May was one of the top rookies in the National League while being mentored by the likes of Clayton Kershaw and became a World Series champion at age 23.
The following offseason was also his last healthy one for five years. In between, May pitched only 233 1/3 Major League innings -- more than half of which came last year between Los Angeles and Boston -- underwent two major elbow surgeries, including Tommy John; was placed on the injured list five times and suffered an esophageal tear in May 2024 that led to him pitching underweight and with significantly less velocity last season.
Now, in the wake of May's first fully healthy offseason since 2020-21, the Cardinals are confident they will have the same pitcher who recorded a 2.57 ERA as a rookie as a big part of their 2026 club.
"That's why we got him," manager Oliver Marmol said of May, who signed a one-year deal with St. Louis in December. "When you look at the history of injury there, I'm counting on him having an incredible year for a lot of different reasons."
May is counting on it, too. When he was in talks with the Cardinals this past winter, one of the first topics the two parties discussed was the team's unmatched ability to keep its pitchers healthy last season. St. Louis put just one pitcher -- reliever John King -- on the injured list all year long. Luck plays a role in that, as May, Marmol and pitching coach Dusty Blake would admit. But that track record was quite appealing to May, considering everything he's been through.
"[Cardinals head athletic trainer Adam Olsen] was on the calls. He explained everything throughout and how they like to work with guys and stay on top of everything when [injury] happens, not trying to let small things become big," May said. "I'm very excited to work with this staff."
The Texas native is also putting in the work already with the Cards' starting staff. When lefty Matthew Liberatore got ready to throw the first live batting practice session of camp on Feb. 12, he took note of May's presence right behind the mound.
"He showed up today, asked me what time my live was and was out there ready for it," Liberatore said of May that afternoon. "Able to give me feedback. We were able to talk through some things. I can ask questions because he was there.
"Something as simple as a brand new guy coming out and showing up and just being present for that, I think that speaks volumes about the kind of person he is and what kind of group we're trying to establish this year."
Blake said May "is in a great spot" in terms of his velocity. That will bear watching during the early portion of the season since his fastball velo declined 2-3 mph last year compared to 2024, due largely to the fact that he competed at about 20-plus pounds under his normal weight.
May was pleased to enter this camp at about 215 pounds. He is intrigued to see how his sparsely used changeup will look after he spent a lot of time over the past few months trying to improve it. He feels good at this point in the calendar for the first time in a long time. Now he's out to prove that he can be the Dustin May of 2020 once again -- even at his "old" age.
"Just looking to get back to that form," May said. "That was something, talking with Dusty in the offseason and before I signed here -- we were kind of on the same page on stuff that we wanted to work on to kind of get back to those cues and everything. To get back to who I was."