On Wednesday, some interesting news came out, or rather, speculation. It came from Ken Rosenthal, so we know to at least take it at face value, and we certainly know that if he’s hearing something, it’s probably legit. But in a recent piece in The Athletic, Sonny Gray’s name came up.
Gray’s name wasn’t just mentioned for the sake of being in the story. In fact, Rosenthal had a very interesting report. The veteran right-hander, who came into last night’s start 11-6 with a 4.30 ERA, has a no-trade clause
in his three-year, $75 million contract. He has twice used that no-trade clause to remain in St. Louis despite the Cardinals making clear that they are going in a different direction. He did it in the offseason when the “reset” was announced, and he did it again at the trade deadline.
Now, it’s clear that the Cardinals are rebuilding, and that’s why Gray’s name came up. Rosenthal mentioned that with the rebuild inevitable and likely to happen under Chaim Bloom, Gray could be open to waiving his no-trade clause.
When he chose to remain in St. Louis, he cited a desire to stay close to his Nashville home. The closest spots to there that aren’t St. Louis are Cincinnati and Atlanta, and Rosenthal even mentioned the Braves as a good fit, as they are closer to Nashville than even the Cardinals are.
Now, the Braves are also out of contention, but have a better chance of bouncing back in 2026 than the Cardinals do, so that makes sense.
So, what do I think about this? Well, I think it’s becoming more likely that Gray will be traded in the offseason. You do have to keep in mind though that the Cardinals would have to eat some money to get anything valuable in return. It’s similar to Nolan Arenado, and Gray hasn’t exactly set the world on fire in his Cardinals tenure.
But I am starting to think that not only will Gray be traded, but that he’s also open to other teams beyond the Braves and Reds. He was brought in to be the Cardinals’ ace, but even though he’s had some good moments in a Cardinals uniform, he hasn’t exactly been the ace he was brought in to be. He’s not really the innings-eating type and isn’t quite the horse that a guy like Adam Wainwright or Chris Carpenter was.
This isn’t to say he’s not a great pitcher. He is quite good when he’s right, but he was also brought here with the understanding that the Cardinals expected to be a contender. They have not been a contender since 2022.
Gray was even on the record saying he likes those high-pressure moments. In all likelihood, there won’t be many of those moments for the Cardinals in 2026, as Rosenthal notes, so it makes sense that Gray would be open to not only being traded, but to teams he may not have been open to in the past.
Even if the Cardinals have to eat a good deal of money, they can at least get some salary relief by trading Gray this offseason. I would think he has a little more value than Nolan Arenado because of his ability to get swings and misses and strike hitters out.
It’s important to remember he’s 35 years old and will be turning 36 next year, so that could hurt his value a little. But with starting pitching in high demand in free agency, it would make sense that teams would show interest in Gray if they decided to pivot to acquiring their pitching via trade.
We don’t know for sure if Gray will want to be traded. He does still have his no-trade clause, but you can’t blame him for wanting to go somewhere else and win if that is the case. He’s not going to get that chance in St. Louis, and is it really worth keeping him for the final year of his contract if the Cardinals aren’t going to contend?
I’m not so sure it is, so while it sucks to have to watch the Cardinals rebuild, I would not be surprised to see Gray traded this winter. This isn’t a contender, and it won’t be for several years.
