The Red Sox have acquired Sonny Gray in a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals.
According to multiple reports, the Boston Red Sox have acquired former All-Star starting pitcher Sonny Gray in a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Gray has waived his no-trade clause to go to Boston. He adds that the deal is being re-worked to include a mutual option for 2027. Gray is owed $31 million this season and the mutual buyout will be $10 million, meaning that Gray is getting essentially $41 million guaranteed.
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.
How he fits
The Red Sox have said all offseason that they want to add another frontline starter to pair with Garrett Crochet in the rotation. It's unclear if Gray fits that mold still, but he will join Crochet and Brayan Bello at the top of the rotation for now.
Youngsters Connelly Early and Payton Tolle will also be in the mix, as will veteran Kutter Crawford, who is returning back from his own injury. Kyle Harrison and Patrick Sandoval are also in contention.
Tanner Houck is out for the season with Tommy John surgery, and Lucas Giolito was allowed to test free agency.
The return
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Red Sox are trading pitcher Richard Fitts and pitching prospect Brandon Clarke. He was ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the organization by MLB Pipeline.
The Chaim Bloom affect
Trades between the Red Sox and Cardinals always made sense this offseason because of Bloom's presence. The new front office leader in St. Louis, he previously helmed the Red Sox front office. Ironically, he didn't draft either of Clarke or Fitts, who was acquired by Craig Breslow before the 2024 season.
The money
The Cardinals are sending $20 million to the Red Sox in the deal, meaning that Gray will be owed just $11 million by the Red Sox, who will also be on the hook for the $10 million buyout next year.
What's next
The baseball world will reconvene at the winter meetings in Orlando, scheduled for Dec. 7-10. At that time, we should see more substantial deals.
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