Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow made it clear that he had starting pitching additions on his offseason shopping list. He got to work early.
The Red Sox have acquired veteran starting pitcher Sonny Gray from the St. Louis Cardinals, reported by MLB insider Jon Heyman. Gray has one year remaining on his three-year contract and a club option for another season in 2027. The 36-year-old had a full no-trade clause on his contract, and agreed to a trade to Boston.
Breslow linked up with former Red Sox chief baseball officer, Chaim Bloom, how is now the president of baseball operations in the Cardinals front office. Bloom is very familiar with the Sox's farm system and the two teams could become more frequent trade partners in the future.
The Red Sox will receive $20 million from the Cards to pay down Gray's contract, first reported by Chris Cotillo of MassLive. Gray's salary for 2025 will be $31 million with a $10 million mutual option buyout for 2027. Without any supplementary funds from St. Louis, Gray's contract would've added $41 million to Boston's luxury tax figure. Now. it's on the hook for $21 million.
Red Sox make first major move of their offseason, trade for Sonny Gray from Cardinals
The Cardinals received Richard Fitts and top pitching prospect Brandon Clarke in exchange for Gray. The Red Sox acquired Fitts from the New York Yankees in the 2023 Alex Verdugo trade, and he clocked a 3.97 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP over 65.2 innings in the major leagues between 2024-25. Boston selected Clarke in the fifth round of the 2024 MLB Draft and he posted a short but great first season in the system, to the tune of a 4.03 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 60 strikeouts and 27 walks over 38 innings.
Gray is a career 3.58 pitcher over 13 years in the major leagues. Along with the Cardinals, he's suited up for the A's, Reds, Twins and Yankees in his career. He's earned three All-Star nominations in 2015, 2019 and 2023, and he earned Cy Young Award votes in each of those years.
Gray posted a 4.28 ERA with a 1.234 WHIP, 201 strikeouts, 38 walks and a National League-leading 5.29 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 180.2 innings in 2025. His ERA doesn't jump off the page, but his walk rate ranks in the 93rd-percentile and his whiff and strikeout percentages rank in the upper quartile of the league.
Trading for Gray could be a great start to this offseason for Boston, but it's hard to believe he's the front of the rotation arm Breslow has said he's looking for. Gray brings veteran leadership and postseason experience to a relatively inexperienced pitching staff, but he's not on the level of an elite addition like Freddy Peralta or Joe Ryan.