St. Louis Cardinals' Sonny Gray Linked To Division Rival in MLB Trade Rumor

The season didn't go as planned for the St. Louis Cardinals. Their rotation, among other things, left much to be desired, as it featured mainly pitchers on the wrong side of 35. By far their best starter was Sonny Gray, who they signed as a free agent last winter.

But according to a report by Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Cards, in their efforts to get the team back on the right track, have somehow decided to put their ace starter on the trade block this offseason.

Nightengale writes that NL Central division rival Cincinnati Reds are "expected to be among the teams aggressively pursuing him".

After finishing 2nd in Cy Young balloting in the American League with the Minnesota Twins in 2023, Gray signed a three-year, $75 million contract last winter with the Cards, and their efforts to trade him might be difficult, as they included in that deal a full no-trade clause.

The soon-to-be 35-year-old finished the 2024 season with a 13-9 mark, a 3.84 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 28 starts. He posted a tremendous 203:39 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and 11 K/9.

But according to Nightengale, the Cards still intend to shop Gray on the trade market in order to reduce payroll.

St. Louis finishes the season (going into Sunday's finale) with an 82-79 mark, six games back of a Wild Card spot. But based on their awful run differential of -52, they actually have a 75-86 expected win-loss mark.