On Tuesday, the Red Sox made their first major move of the hot stove season, as they traded away pitchers Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke to St. Louis in exchange for veteran starting pitcher Sonny Gray.

In Gray, Boston is getting a proven arm who has become a reliable righty for both the Twins (2022-23) and Cardinals (2024-25). He’s come a long way from the disappointing season-and-a-half he spent in the AL East in 2017 and 2018, where Gray was the No. 1 player Yankees fans complained about on talk radio. After being acquired at the deadline in ’17 from Oakland, Gray went 4-7 in 11 starts for New York. And while he was 11-9 for the Yankees in ’18, his ERA was up near 5.00, and Yankees fans still could not stand the guy.

He will make his return to the division in 2026 with Boston at age 36, coming off a 14-8 season for a Cardinals team that finished six games under .500. That solid season amid mediocrity came one year after going 13-9 with a 3.84 ERA for an 83-win team in St. Louis.

Make no mistake about it - Gray is good. He’s not Tarik Skubal, but he profiles as a solid No. 3 starter for a team that should continue looking to add to the starting rotation this offseason. With Lucas Giolito on the open market, Gray is the obvious replacement for the veteran righty - despite being seven inches shorter (5-foot-10 vs. 6-foot-6), for those who track that sort of thing.

With all that said on Gray, what did Boston lose in giving up guys Fitts and Clarke?

Here’s what Cardinals fans can expect from their newcomers from Boston:

Richard Fitts, RHP

By moving Fitts to land Gray, the Red Sox are parting with one of their more polished, MLB-ready arms. He might not be a frontline prospect, but he offers real value: a durable starter with above-average command, a fastball that plays at the top of the zone, and a pair of secondaries that miss enough bats to project him as a cost-controlled, mid-rotation option.

Fitts finished the 2025 season with a 2-4 record, a 5.00 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and 40 strikeouts in 45.0 innings pitched. Not eye-popping, but there was a lot to like about what Fitts brought to the table when you actually watched the performances.

He was on the cusp of contributing meaningful innings in Boston, but injuries in 2025 hampered what his ceiling could be for the Sox - a right pectoral strain in April and, more significantly, right arm neuritis (inflammation of a bundle of nerves in his shoulder and arm) in late August.

His remaining club control made him an appealing long-term depth piece, yet not appealing enough to avoid being moved. In trading him, the Red Sox are sacrificing affordable stability in exchange for the higher immediate impact Gray provides.

Plus, his nickname was “Dick,” and he’s 6-foot-3, 230 pounds. Who doesn’t like rooting for a guy named Dick Fitts?

Brandon Clarke, LHP

By including Clarke in the deal to acquire Gray, the Red Sox parted ways with one of their most intriguing young pitching arms. Clarke - just 22 and previously rated among Boston’s top prospects - brings a high-ceiling arsenal: a fastball that sits 96-98 mph (and occasionally touches 100), plus a sweeping slider that scouts consider among the more dangerous breaking balls in the minors.

Although Clarke dealt with control issues and health hiccups (blister problems limited him to 38 innings in 2025) after a strong start in Single-A, his raw stuff - velocity, movement, strikeout potential - represented a long-term upside that could have paid off as he matured.

By trading him now, Boston trades away that upside, essentially gambling that the proven veteran Gray will help the club win sooner - but sacrificing a potentially high-reward future rotation piece.

Clarke was a fifth round pick by Boston in the 2024 MLB Amateur Draft out of State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota in Bradenton, FL - a Division 1 team at the NJCAA level.

As of publishing, the move for Gray has not shifted Boston’s World Series odds at all, as they still sit with the seventh-best odds at OddsTrader to win the 2026 Fall Classic.

Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.