Cardinals add American League Cy Young runner-up to starting rotation, reports say
Not content to shop only in the run-up to the holiday, the St. Louis Cardinals made a move on Monday morning that seemingly solidifies their rotation and takes major strides in making up their substantial innings gap – though likely not at discount Cyber Monday prices.
The Cardinals reached an agreement with right-hander Sonny Gray, last season’s runner up for the American League Cy Young Award, according to multiple reports. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman was the first to report on the pending finalization of a contract. Heyman reports the deal is worth $75 million over three years.
Gray, 34, turned in a 2.79 ERA in 184 innings for the Minnesota Twins in 2023, striking out 183 batters in those innings and walking only 55. He also allowed only eight home runs, an astonishingly low total which should seemingly only be buoyed by now making half of his starts at spacious Busch Stadium.
Because Gray rejected a qualifying offer from Minnesota, the Cardinals will give up their second highest draft pick in 2024 as well as $500,000 from ther international bonus pool.
The reported $25 million annual value is a record for a Cardinals free agent, beating the $17.5 million they gave catcher and designated hitter Willson Contreras last winter.
A native of the Nashville area, Gray mused to reporters in Minnesota during the season about his desire to pitch relatively close to his home. That left the Cardinals and Atlanta Braves as logical potential suitors, and the Cardinals, with significant need in their starting rotation, had been clear in their pursuit of Gray even stretching back to the closing months of their own dismal season.
In adding Gray to last week’s signings of Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn, the Cardinals have seemingly filled out a starting rotation that was the source of so many of their struggles. Gray represents a front half of the rotation talent that should offer higher ceiling results than the other two additions, though last season’s performance is somewhat of an outlier in terms of his career results.
Speaking last week at a press conference where he announced the signings of Gibson and Lynn, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said the team had largely focused on the free agent market as opposed to trades in seeking to supplement its pitching, and this move only solidifies that posture.
Whether the Cardinals now view themselves as in possession of a fully set rotation remains to be seen. The team did engage in trade talks around lefty Steven Matz last summer, and he showed an uptick in velocity and consistent results during a stint in which he was moved to the bullpen.
Japanese superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto remains on the market in the midst of his posting period, and the Cardinals have been in pursuit, including a recruiting pitch from his friend and Team Japan teammate Lars Nootbaar.
Filling out the rotation via free agency also means other questions on the roster, such as the glut of quality options at second base, remain unanswered. With the annual MLB Winter Meetings set for next week in Nashville, the Cardinals will likely now turn to adding relief options in free agency – Japanese lefty Yuki Matsui and Korean righty Go Woo-suk among their targets – and exploring whether trades to clarify their roster jam can be turned into more useful short term assets.
If the current presumed starting rotation holds – Gray, Gibson, Lynn, Matz, and Miles Mikolas – Matz would be the youngest of the five, set to turn 33 on May 29.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
This story was originally published November 27, 2023 at 9:12 AM.
