Red Sox, Cardinals agree on trade sending right-hander Sonny Gray from St. Louis to Boston, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
Gray, who turned 36 earlier this month, opted not to waive his no-trade clause last offseason when the Cardinals laid out their plan to step back and focus on player development rather than their typical win-now mantra. However, after the team’s failure to make the playoffs in 2025, Gray publicly acknowledged that he would “definitely” consider trade scenarios as the Cardinals leaned even further into a multi-year rebuilding effort. “I signed here two years ago with the hope of winning and trying to win, and it didn’t turn out that way,” he said in September. “I want to win.”
He’ll get that opportunity to win now, joining a Red Sox rotation led by the Cy Young finalist. Garrett Hook and an offense anchored by a budding superstar Romain Antoine. Boston earned a Wild Card berth in the American League last season, and although they fell to the Yankees two games to one in that series, they are clearly a win-now club with playoff aspirations. The same cannot be said of the cardinals.
Gray is heading into the final guaranteed season of a three-year, $75 million contract originally signed in St. Louis, coming off his own second Cy Young performance with the Twins in 2023. This is, however, a heavily delayed contract. Gray will receive $35 million in 2026 and will also owe a $5 million buyout on a $30 million club option for the 2027 season. Even with that option, Gray should be considered a rental. His contract states that if the club chooses that option, he can opt out and return to free agency. This would save the Red Sox from having to buy out $5 million on the option. But if Gray pitches well enough for the Sox to exercise a $30 million option, he will most likely return in free agency and seek a multi-year deal.
By today’s standards, Gray is a workaholic. He pitched 180 2/3 innings of 4.28 ERA ball in 2025 and had more encouraging rate stats. With the exception of the shortened 2020 season (in which he made 11 of a possible 12 starts), the former first-round pick has started at least 24 games every year since 2019, averaging 29 starts per 162-game season during that span. Gray hasn’t returned to the level of performance he displayed in that Cy Young runner-up with Minnesota, but he posted a 4.07 ERA, 28.4% strikeout rate, 5.4% walk rate and 43.2% hit rate in 347 innings during his two seasons in St. Louis.
More to come.
