The Cardinals acquired two pitchers from Boston for the three-time All-Star.
The St. Louis Cardinals started their offseason firesale by trading right-handed pitcher Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday afternoon.
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Cardinals are acquiring young right-hander Richard Fitts in the deal, as well as top prospect Brandon Clarke. Clarke was ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the Red Sox organization by MLB Pipeline.
About Gray
A 13-year veteran of the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins, and Cardinals, Gray is now 36 years old. He's gone 125-102 for his career, earning three All-Star appearances.
He finished second in the American League Cy Young voting in 2023 with the Twins.
This past season, Gray went 14-8 for St. Louis with a 4.28 ERA. He's made 28 starts or more in each of the last three seasons.
About the money
We knew that Chaim Bloom was willing to include money in order to get better prospects this offseason, and he held true to that on Tuesday. The Cardinals are sending $20 million to the Red Sox in the deal, which likely allowed them to receive a prospect like Clarke.
About Fitts
A 25-year-old Alabama native, Fitts is set to turn 26 in December. A former sixth-round pick of the New York Yankees, he had been acquired by Boston before the 2024 season. Ironically, neither him or Clarke were drafted or developed by Bloom during his tenure in Boston.
Fitts went 2-4 this past season in the big leagues (11 games, 10 starts), with a 5.00 ERA. He threw 45.0 innings but dealt with injury issues.
About Clarke
Now 22 years old, he was a fifth-round pick in 2024 out of the Florida junior college ranks. He went 0-3 this season at a combination of Single-A and High-A, making 14 starts and pitching to a 4.03 ERA. He only threw 38.0 innings and is expected to make his debut in 2028.
From a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile:
Clarke throws harder than most lefty starters, sitting at 95-98 mph and reaching 100, though his fastball features more downhill plane than riding or running action. He has unveiled a devastating slider this season, with the pitch operating in the upper 80s and touching 91 mph with huge sweep as well as depth. He has relieved heavily on his heater and slide piece, rarely using an upper-70s curveball and an upper-80s changeup with some mild fade, both of which he struggles to land for strikes.
Where the Cardinals go from here
Well, trading Nolan Arenado remains the next order of business, and then the Cards can seriously weigh trading others like Alec Burleson, Lars Nootbaar and Brendan Donovan.
The winter meetings are Dec. 7-10 and the Cardinals appear open for business.
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