Sonny Gray traded to Red Sox: Cardinals veteran joins Boston rotation as St. Louis teardown begins

The Red Sox have beefed up their starting rotation with a Thanksgiving week trade. They have acquired right-hander Sonny Gray from the Cardinals, the teams announced Tuesday.

Headed back to the Cardinals are left-handed pitcher Brandon Clarke and right-handed pitcher Richard Fitts.

Gray, 36, was set to make $35 million in 2026 before a $30 million team option for 2027 with a $5 million buyout. His contract was reworked as part of this deal, and he'll now get $31 million for 2026 and a mutual option that has a $10 million buyout for 2027, per The Athletic. The Red Sox will also receive $20 million from St. Louis to help defray Gray's salary, leaving Boston's total hit at about $21 million, CBS Sports has confirmed.

The Cardinals are going through a bit of a rebuild here, shedding dollars where they can and opening up space for younger players, while the Red Sox were looking for rotation help, so there was a good match on this deal. 

In 32 starts last season, Gray was 14-8 with a 4.28 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 201 strikeouts against 38 walks in 180 ⅔ innings. He was worth 1.4 WAR. He finished second in Cy Young voting with the Twins in 2023, but it's fair to say his two years with the Cardinals were slightly disappointing. He's still got the swing-and-miss stuff, though, so it's possible he is good for the 2026 Red Sox. 

Gray had a no-trade clause, but he said late in the season he was open to waiving it.

"I think I do (have to consider waiving it), just to be frank and to be honest," he 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."

The Red Sox's ace is Garrett Crochet, who is coming off a runner-up in the Cy Young vote. We can probably slot Gray second before Brayan Bello, Connelly Early and Kutter Crawford, at least to start the season.

The Red Sox made the playoffs last year for the first time since 2021 and lost in the Wild Card Series to the Yankees, two games to one. 

The Cardinals finished 78-84 and have missed the playoffs three straight seasons. In addition to Gray, the expectation is they'll try to trade third baseman Nolan Arenado (as they have been doing for at least a year) and maybe even converted first baseman Willson Contreras. Utility man Brendan Donovan has also been rumored to be available. The Cardinals are looking to go younger and shed money here in the short term. They've transitioned in the front office from long-time president John Mozeliak to Chaim Bloom. 

Clarke is a 22-year-old pitcher who had a 5.08 ERA in 11 starts in High-A last season. He also made three starts in Class A and pitched to 0.93 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 9 ⅔ innings. 

Fitts, 25, has made 15 appearances in the majors. He's 2-5 with a 3.97 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 49 strikeouts in 65 ⅔ innings.