Sonny Gray landing spots: Ranking all 30 teams for veteran pitcher open to waiving his no-trade clause
The 36-year-old Cardinals pitcher is due $35 million in 2026
By
Mike Axisa
•
9 min read
Sonny Gray wrapped up his second season and possibly his stint with the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday night. Gray held the San Francisco Giants to three runs (two earned) in six innings, striking out seven, though the Giants won (SF 4, STL 3) and officially eliminated St. Louis from postseason contention. The transition from John Mozeliak to Chaim Bloom awaits.
Gray, 36 in November, finished the season with a 4.28 ERA in 180 ⅔ innings, thought the under-the-hood numbers were much more promising. He has the lowest walk rate among National League starters and both FIP (3.39) and xERA (3.88) say he performed better than his surface stats. Gray may no longer be a true ace, but he remains an above-average major league starter.
Following Wednesday's loss, Gray was asked about staying with the Cardinals next year, and possibly waiving his full no-trade clause. Here's what he told reporters, including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
"I think I do (have to consider waiving it), just to be frank and to be honest," the veteran said. "I definitely think I do. Whether I do decide that I want to go somewhere – whether that actually happens – I don't have complete control of that. Obviously, I have control of where I can't go or don't go. I'm going to be 36. It's going to be my 14th season. Last year of my contract for this. I don't know what the future holds for me.
"Truly, I don't know what that looks like for me yet."
Gray has one year remaining on his contract and it is an expensive year: $35 million salary with a $5 million buyout of a $30 million club option for 2027. In other words, he almost certainly has $40 million coming to him in 2026. As good as Gray is, and as much as pitching is always in demand, it's hard to see the Cardinals moving him without eating some money to facilitate the trade.
Bloom will have a lot on his plate in his first offseason as the top baseball operations decision maker, with Nolan Arenado's future atop the list. Gray's future is on there too. The Cardinals may not want to call it a rebuild, but winning in 2026 does not seem to be the priority. In that case, trading Gray not only makes sense, but seems imperative. He's a quality trade chip that can be cashed in.
With that in mind, let's rank the 30 MLB teams (Cardinals included) as potential landing spots for Gray based on team need, how likely they are to trade for him, and how likely Gray is to accept a trade there. That last one is obviously quite subjective.
Not happening
30. Colorado Rockies
29. Pittsburgh Pirates
28. Chicago White Sox
27. Washington Nationals
26. (Sacramento) Athletics
25. Cleveland Guardians
24. Minnesota Twins
23. Miami Marlins
22. Tampa Bay Rays
21. Milwaukee Brewers
20. Los Angeles Angels
It's really hard to see these 11 teams spending the money (and trading the prospects) required to bring in Gray. And even if they are willing to foot the bill, Gray would likely veto a move to a few of these teams. Why would he pitch in Coors Field for a year? Why would he play in a Triple-A park in Sacramento? Why would he play for the Angels?
Been there, done that
19. New York Yankees
Gray's year and a half in New York from 2017-18 did not go especially well, with the two sides trading not-so-subtle barbs after the Yankees traded him away in January 2019. The Yankees could use another starter and have the money to take on Gray's contract, but nah. Neither side will run this back.
We have enough starters, actually, but thanks
18. Cincinnati Reds
17. Kansas City Royals
16. Seattle Mariners
15. Philadelphia Phillies
Every team could use more pitching, some more than others. These four teams are reasonably set with their 2026 rotations. The Phillies are the most likely team in this tier to trade for Gray, especially if Ranger Suárez leaves as a free agent and they don't want to rush top prospect Andrew Painter. Even then, Philadelphia can lean on Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sánchez, Taijuan Walker, and a hopefully healthy Zack Wheeler to begin the season.
Need pitching, but may not spend the money
The D-backs have spent lots of money on pitching over the years (Madison Bumgarner, Corbin Burnes, Zack Greinke, Eduardo Rodriguez, etc.) and could do it again, especially since Gray is not a long-term commitment. Their interest could come down to the future of Zac Gallen, who hits free agency this winter. Can the D-backs re-sign him? Does he accept the qualifying offer? Burnes will miss the start of next season with Tommy John surgery, remember. One way or the other, Arizona needs arms this winter.
13. Boston Red Sox
Lucas Giolito can become a free agent and that's a lot of innings to replace. And hey, the Red Sox have all that money they no longer have to pay Rafael Devers. Boston has been skewing more toward youth and pitcher development though. I'm not sure sinking, say, $30 million (assuming the Cardinals pay down the other $10 million) into a rental starter is something they will do.
On paper, the O's are such an obvious fit for Gray. They need pitching badly, even with Trevor Rogers pitching like an ace and Kyle Bradish now healthy. Maybe they learned their lesson last offseason, when they filled out their rotation with veteran half-measures? GM Mike Elias does not seem like the type who will give up prospects and pay a big salary for a rental starter though.
11. San Diego Padres
The clamps have been put on payroll since owner Peter Seidler died in November 2023. Clearly, the Padres need starters for next season. Dylan Cease and Michael King will be free agents this winter and Yu Darvish is showing his age. There's a very obvious fit here, and Gray might OK a trade to San Diego because they'll give him a chance to win. I'm just not sure GM A.J. Preller will have the payroll space to make it work based on how he's had to operate the last two seasons.
It's complicated
10. St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals do need someone to pitch for them next year. You can't just toss prospects out there and let them throw dangerous amounts of innings. I'm not sure anyone expected Arenado to make it through last offseason without a trade, and look how that turned out. I think the Cardinals will have an easier time trading Gray than they've had with Arenado simply because pitching is so in demand. It's not out of the question that he stays in St. Louis though.
9. Chicago Cubs
Chicago could use another starter, particularly if Shota Imanaga's various contract options take him into free agency. You've just got the whole "historic rivals getting together for a trade" thing to overcome -- the Cardinals and Cubs have not made a trade since July 2007 or a significant trade since June 1995 -- plus the Cubs figure to focus their efforts (and dollars) on re-signing Kyle Tucker.
The top candidates
Even with Clayton Kershaw retiring, the Dodgers have Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Emmet Sheehan, Blake Snell, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto either signed or under team control in 2026. You can't rule anything out with this team though, right? They regularly use a six-man rotation and bringing in Gray is a thing that could happen. Sure. The Dodgers aren't at the top of the landing spots list but they're not near the bottom either.
Acquiring one year of an expensive rental veteran hits the sweet spot between leveraging owner Steve Cohen's wealth and POBO David Stearns' preference for avoiding long-term contracts for pitchers. The Mets have some great young arms (Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, etc.) and they'll still be locked into a few veterans next year (Clay Holmes, Sean Manaea, etc.), but you needn't try hard to see how Gray can help. Would he accept a trade back to New York? The Mets are not the Yankees, though perhaps there's still a bad taste in his mouth.
Framber Valdez will be a free agent after the season and Luis Garcia needs another elbow procedure that will sideline him in 2026. There is a clear need for a starter -- a good one -- behind Hunter Brown. The money may not be an issue with Valdez and José Abreu coming off the books either. Hmmm.
Pitching chaos carried them to a surprise postseason berth last year and, well, the less said about the last few weeks, the better. Jack Flaherty has a $20 million player option decision coming, and if he picks that up, it might eat up Detroit's pitching budget for next season. Also, the Tigers have to start thinking about a long-term deal for Tarik Skubal. He'll be a free agent after 2026. That said, after the collapse this year, splurging on a rental starter feels like a thing a team that wants to contend should do in 2026.
4. San Francisco Giants
POBO Buster Posey took on the entire Rafael Devers contract and Logan Webb and Jung Hoo Lee have sizeable raises built into their contracts next year, so I'm not sure what their payroll situation looks like. I have to think Posey will at least check in on Gray though. Keep in mind manager Bob Melvin was Gray's manager all those years with the A's. That could factor into his decision to waive his no-trade clause (assuming Melvin is still managing the team next year).
The Rangers need offense more than anything this offseason, but they do need pitching too. Tyler Mahle and Jon Gray will be free agents after the season and Kumar Rocker is looking reliever-y. Texas only has so many prime years of Jacob deGrom and Corey Seager remaining. Gray would improve the 2026 team without tying up payroll long term. A good fit, this is.
Chris Bassitt, Shane Bieber, and Max Scherzer will be free agents after the season and Alek Manoah is almost certainly a goner. I would think re-signing Bieber would be the priority, but even if that happens, Toronto could use another starter. It's one thing for Eric Lauer to be a pleasant surprise. It's another to pencil him into your Opening Day rotation, you know? A veteran buffer to slot into the rotation behind Kevin Gausman and José Berríos, and ahead of Trey Yesavage, figures to be on Toronto's shopping list this winter.
At one point this season, Atlanta's entire Opening Day rotation was on the 60-day injured list. You just can't have your core starters miss that much time and assume they'll all come back healthy next season. Raisel Iglesias and Marcell Ozuna come off the books this winter, clearing an awful lot of money. The team needs pitching and Atlanta is about as close to Gray's home in Tennessee as you can get in this league. I would imagine the Braves are on the short list of teams Gray would accept a trade to, and I would expect the Braves to be among the first teams to call the Cardinals when the offseason begins.
