May Declines $20M Brewers Option and Hits Open Market After World Series Win

Dustin May is a free agent. The 29-year-old right-hander declined his end of a $20 million mutual option with the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday, collecting a $500,000 buyout instead, a day after the franchise won its first World Series. The decision, reported by MLB insider Jon Heyman, was widely expected: a mutual option requires both sides to trigger it, and Milwaukee were never likely to commit $20 million to a pitcher they had moved to the bullpen for October. May made 10 regular-season starts after joining the Brewers at the August 3 trade deadline, posting a 5.65 ERA, and finished the postseason with a 5.73 ERA, including three scoreless innings in his Game 4 World Series start against Tampa Bay. Across both clubs in 2026 he made a career-high 31 starts and threw 145 2/3 innings with 144 strikeouts — his first fully healthy season in seven years — and he already owns four championship rings from his time with the Dodgers. Now the question is whether that healthy season earns him a multi-year deal, with projections around $15 million a year.