Sonny Gray to make debut with Cardinals on Tuesday

Right-hander Sonny Gray will make his debut as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday.

The right-hander, who signed a three-year, $75 million free-agent deal in the offseason, opened the season on the injured list with a right hamstring strain.

Manager Oliver Marmol said Gray, 34, will be on a pitch limit of 65 when he faces the Philadelphia Phillies in St. Louis.

Gray is skipping a minor league rehab start, telling Marmol he is game-ready.

"He is as direct and honest of a human as you can ever encounter," Marmol told reporters. "And if he says he is 100 percent himself and ready to go, from my seat, I trust that."

Gray left the March 4 spring training game against the Washington Nationals in West Palm Beach, Fla., with what the team called right hamstring tightness. He had gotten five outs -- none of the balls hit left the infield -- and was throwing to Washington's Nick Senzel with a 1-1 count when catcher Willson Contreras summoned trainers from the dugout.

The Cardinals added Gray as part of a remake of their pitching staff that included bringing in Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson.

Last season with the Minnesota Twins, Gray finished second in Cy Young Award balloting with an 8-8 record and 2.79 ERA in 32 starts.

In his career with the Oakland Athletics (2013-17), New York Yankees (2017-18), Cincinnati Reds (2019-21) and Twins (2022-23), Gray has a 98-85 record with a 3.47 ERA in 279 appearances (270 starts) in 1,571 innings.