The Boston Red Sox completed one of their two offseason trades with the St.Louis Cardinals by sending a reliever prospect to St. Louis.
On November 25, the Boston Red Sox sent starter Richard Fitts, prospect Brandon Clarke, and a player to be named later to the St.Louis Cardinals in exchange for starter Sonny Gray. On Monday morning, the Red Sox completed that trade, sending reliever prospect Patrick Galle to St.Louis as the player to be named later.
Who is Patrick Galle?
The Red Sox selected Galle out of Mississippi with their 17th-round pick in the 2025 Draft, signing him for $150,000. According to SoxProspects.com, Galle is a "Pure relief prospect with intriguing fastball velocity. Secondaries are a work in progress and needs to throw more strikes to be successful in pro ball."
In two seasons at Ole Miss, Galle pitched just 11 innings, all in relief, allowing ten earned runs in those 11 innings, good for an ERA just north of eight.
Galle spent both the 2024 and 2025 seasons playing for the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod League. In two seasons in the Cape League, Galle logged a 2.36 ERA, striking out 27 batters in 26 innings for the Gatemen. He did, however, walk 25 batters in those 26 innings.
After signing with the Red Sox, Galle reported to Single-A Salem, where he made just three appearances. In those three outings, Galle didn't feature the same strikeout stuff that he flashed in Wareham; he did, however, feature the same lack of control, walking seven batters in 5.1 innings pitched.
Before being dealt to St.Louis on Monday, Galle made one appearance for Salem, a two-inning appearance in relief where he allowed one run on two hits.
More on Clarke and Fitts
According to MLB Pipeline, Clarke was the Red Sox' fifth overall prospect at the time of the trade. The lefty starter caught some helium ahead of the 2025 season, with Baseball America dubbing him "the next Red Sox breakout prospect."
Clarke struck out 17 batters across 9.2 innings in Salem to start the 2025 season and was quickly promoted to High-A Greenville, where he struggled with both command and injuries. Clarke pitched just 28.2 innings for the Drive, posting a 5.08 ERA with a walks per nine of 7.9.
Per MLB Pipeline, Clarke is the Cardinals ninth-ranked prospect. He is currently injured and is on the 60-day injured list.
Fitts made his MLB debut with the Red Sox in 2024 after coming over from the Yankees, along with Greg Weissert, in the Alex Verdugo deal. A pair of injuries limited Fitts to just 45 innings for the Sox in 2025, where he saw limited success.
Thus far in 2026, Fitts has made two starts for Triple-A Memphis, where he has allowed just two runs across 10.1 innings of work. Fitts should factor into the Cardinals' big league rotation at some point this season.
Gray has made two starts for the Red Sox, including six innings allowing two earned runs in the Red Sox' win over the San Diego Padres in the home opener at Fenway Park.
Gray's next start for the Red Sox will come in Wednesday afternoon's series finale against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Red Sox will welcome the Brewers to Fenway for a three-game set that gets underway on Monday night. First pitch at 6:45 p.m. ET.
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