The St. Louis Cardinals sign Sonny Gray to lead the starting rotation. The 34-year-old was the runner up for the American League Cy Young Award in 2023. He’s also earned Cy Young votes in 2015 and 2019 and is a three-time MLB All-Star.
Gray signed a three-year contract worth $75M and will become a free agent after the 2026 MLB season.
This move comes after the Cardinals signed Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn on November 21, and 20, respectively.
St. Louis Cardinals Sign Sonny Gray to Lead Starting Rotation
Sonny Gray’s Career Accomplishments
Gray is headed into his 12th season with his fifth different team. He owns a career 3.47 ERA and 23.8% strikeout rate across 1571 innings. His record sits at 98-85 through 279 games.
The righty broke out in 2014 as a member of the Oakland Athletics. At 24 years old, Gray finished with a 14-10 record and a 3.08 ERA through 219 innings. Gray did even better in 2015 by dropping his ERA to 2.73 and finishing with a 14-7 record. At 25 years old, Gray earned his first all-star game bid and finished third in A.L. Cy Young voting.
Fast forward to 2019, when Gray is in his first season with the Cincinnati Reds. He set a career high in strikeouts with 205 and he did it in just 175.1 innings. That season he once again earned an all-star game nod and finished seventh in N.L. Cy Young voting. Gray pitched well in two more seasons with the Reds before they sent him to Minnesota via trade.
In 2023 Gray compiled 184 innings, 183 strikeouts, led MLB in FIP (2.83), and home runs per nine innings (0.4). Gray once again made the All-Star Game and finished second in A.L. Cy Young voting.
Outlook for the Cardinals’ Starting Rotation
With the additions of Gibson, Gray, and Lynn the Cardinals have almost completely overhauled the rotation from 2023. Gray and Miles Mikolas are the top two. Steven Matz, Gibson, and Lynn round out the last three spots.
- Sonny Gray
- Miles Mikolas
- Steven Matz
- Kyle Gibson
- Lance Lynn
It’s still possible that the team will trade for a starting pitcher and are rumored to be in talks with the White Sox on Dylan Cease and the Tampa Bay Rays on Tyler Glasnow.
What’s Next for the St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals have completed the goal set by President of Baseball Operations, John Mozeliak of signing three starting pitchers this free agency. But are these the pitchers that fans wanted them to sign?
The answer is a resounding no. Fans wanted the likes of Aaron Nola, Blake Snell, and/or Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Not a trio of pitchers in the tail end of their career that one describes as an “innings-eater”.
Now many are happy with the signing of Gray, as they should be. However, fans would’ve preferred if he was being signed as a number two pitcher instead of an ace.
According to Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Mozeliak said: “I don’t think we’re looking to add starting pitching now. I think it’s – where can we improve the club overall. But I learned a long time ago – never say never.”
It appears set that Gray is the last addition of the starting rotation for now. So where do the Cardinals go from here? Where can they improve the club overall? The answer to this question is the bullpen.
The Cardinals’ bullpen finished 2023 in the bottom-ten of most pitching categories including batting average (.257), strikeouts (562), and wild pitches (33).
The need for bullpen arms is indisputable. With the aggressiveness of the front office thus far this free agency, I expect them to continue to sign players at a steady pace.
Final Thoughts on Sonny Gray
I give the Cardinals’ an A+ on this signing. While Gray may not be the prototypical ace, he is without a doubt the best pitcher on the team. Fans should expect the veteran to compete for awards and help push the Cardinals back into playoff contention.
Tomorrows Baseball 
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