Projected Brewers rotation and trade grades after acquiring Dustin May from Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals haven't won a series in nearly a month, taking them from the thick of the NL Wild Card race to the outside looking in. With the team trending in the wrong direction, Chaim Bloom unsurprisingly elected to sell at the trade deadline, reportedly sending Dustin May and JoJo Romero to the Milwaukee Brewers per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon.

This is a deal that makes sense for both sides. The Brewers needed pitching depth, particularly after their inexcusable Tarik Skubal whiff, and the Cardinals landed meaningful prospect capital in exchange for two veterans on expiring contracts in a year that'll likely see them outside of the postseason.

Projected Brewers rotation after acquring Dustin May from Cardinals

This Brewers rotation is still quite good. Jacob Misiorowski remains the NL Cy Young frontrunner. Kyle Harrison is scheduled to return from the IL this week, and is in the midst of a breakout campaign. Logan Henderson has been nothing but extraordinary whenever he's been handed the ball at the big-league level. Even Brandon Sproat has pitched better of late.

The May acquisition is an intriguing one, in particular. He's always had great stuff, but has never seemingly put it all together. If he's going to finally do it, there's a good chance that'll happen in Milwaukee, an organization that consistently gets the most out of its pitchers. Knowing that he's their No. 4 starter when healthy, this is a solid bet for the Brewers to take, even if it isn't the all-in move their fans were hoping for.

With Robert Gasser and Shane Drohan still around for depth, the Brewers' rotation is in a pretty good spot, even with Brandon Woodruff and Quinn Priester out for the year.

MLB trade grades: Brewers land Dustin May in NL Central swap with Cardinals

Cardinals fans might not like the idea of seeing Dustin May and JoJo Romero in Brewers uniforms, but boy, they should be thrilled with this return. Chaim Bloom brought not one but two fast-rising outfield prospects generating tons of hype this season.

Alexander Frias has a .980 OPS and 19 stolen bases this season split between rookie ball and Low-A as an 18-year-old. He possesses tons of raw power, and while he probably won't stick in center field, he can be a strong defensive outfielder in a corner thanks largely to a cannon for an arm. He's only the No. 11 prospect in Milwaukee's farm system per MLB Pipeline, but there's no shame in being a top-15 prospect in arguably the best farm system in the sport.

The same can be said about Josiah Ragsdale, who ranks No. 13. Ragsdale has hit 19 home runs and 21 doubles while posting a 1.022 OPS this season split between High-A and Double-A. He's also stolen 31 bases, and unlike Frias, should stick in center field (albeit with a bit of a lackluster arm).

Neither of these prospects is a sure thing, but for a pair of rentals, this is a no-brainer from the Cardinals' perspective. As for the Brewers ... yeah, they got better now, and will be even scarier once Romero comes back healthy. But sending Frias and Ragsdale within the division is a risk. Both of their stocks are rising rapidly, and that might continue even with the changing of organizations. Milwaukee should be unafraid to trade prospects, but I'm not sure this deal is the perfect one, even if May and Romero do end up pitching well down the stretch.

Cardinals trade grade: A
Brewers trade grade: B-

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