photo: Sonny Gray (Jesse Johnson/USA TODAY Sports)
The St. Louis Cardinals have come to terms with free agent starting pitcher Sonny Gray on a three-year, $75 million contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
A later report from Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch notes the deal includes no trade protection plus an option for 2027 at $30 million or a $5 million buyout. That makes the maximum value $100 million over four years.
The Associated Press provided key details. Gray will make $10 million in 2024, $25 million in 2025 and $35 million in 2026. The 2027 option is a joint one, in that if the Cardinals pick it up, Gray then has the choice to accept or take the buyout instead. The buyout would be paid in $1 million annual increments starting on January 15, 2027.
The 34-year-old Tennessee resident was the 2023 American League Cy Young Award runner up as a member of the Minnesota Twins. This past season, Gray had an 8-8 record and a 2.79 ERA in 184 innings, with 183 strikeouts against 55 walks and just 156 hits allowed.
The first round pick of Oakland from Vanderbilt in 2011, the 5-foot-10, 195-pounder has 11 years of major league experience. Gray began his big league journey with the A’s (2013-2017), then moved to the Yankees (2017-2018), Reds (2019-2021) and Twins (2022-2023). He was an all-star three times, in 2015, 2019 and 2023. In 2015, Gray finished third in the AL Cy Young vote and was seventh in the NL in 2019.
Over and above his salary, Gray’s cost to the Cardinals was considerable. Because the pitcher turned down a qualifying offer from the Twins, the Cardinals will forfeit their second-round pick in the 2024 draft as well as $500,000 of international free agent spending. This was the same penalty they were assessed in 2023 for the signing of Willson Contreras.
Gray moves to the front end of the aged (or very experienced, depending on your level of optimism) 2024 Cardinals rotation that includes two 36-year-old arms signed last week – Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson. Incumbents are Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz, both on the other side of 30, as well.
With the team having recently committed approximately $48 million additional in 2024 alone for the three new starting pitchers, one is left to wonder if they are now done adding to their rotation. An upgrade of the Matz spot is still possible but would likely require considerable salary relief. Bullpen depth, which has not yet been addressed directly, may be added via free agency or trade.
Gray is the only one of the three new additions committed beyond 2024, meaning the Cardinals will have to re-enter the starting pitching market in 12 months or multiple internal prospects must emerge this coming season.
(To clarify, the Cardinals also hold team options for the services of Lynn and Gibson in 2025. If one or both perform well in 2024, they might be kept a second year, though 2025 would be their age 37 season.)
The deal with Gray has not yet been announced by the team, with it not likely becoming official until after a physical exam is conducted. With his signing, the Cardinals’ 40-man roster will be at 39 players.
Update
The Cardinals confirmed the signing via a Monday afternoon press conference at Busch Stadium.
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