$75 Million Ace's Spring Training Struggles Should Concern Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals aren't expected to do much in 2025. They only made one free agent signing, that being Phil Maton, who joined the team on a one-year, $2 million contract.

They also didn't fully commit to their "reset," as no players were traded away. Right-hander Sonny Gray chose to remain in St. Louis, as he has a no-trade clause.

Gray has struggled this spring, going 0-3 with a 12.56 ERA. He is set to be the team's Opening Day starter, but his velocity has been down, and home runs remain an issue.

This is something that should be concerning to the Cardinals.

"Gray’s velocity has been noticeably down all camp — something that isn’t much to be bothered about in the early weeks of spring but is certainly something to note during a pitcher’s final spring appearance. Gray’s four-seam fastball topped out at 91.7 mph (per Statcast) on Friday. He sat at 89-90 mph, well below his career average of 93 mph. Gray reiterated multiple times he feels healthy but conceded some concern regarding the lack of explosiveness on his pitches," Katie Woo wrote.

Gray began struggling with home runs in the second half of last season. That has carried over into spring. And while the Cardinals may not be worried about his ERA, it's still something to keep an eye on.

Also worth noting is that Gray was shut down at the end of the year with a shoulder issue, so while he might be saying he's healthy, there could be something that is still ailing him heading into 2025.

Hopefully for St. Louis, Gray can figure things out and get going in the right direction when the season starts.