Instant Impact Of Cardinals-Red Sox Sonny Gray Blockbuster

"The Boston Red Sox are acquiring right-hander Sonny Gray in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, sources tell ESPN," Passan wrote on X. "Red Sox get the veteran who said he would waive his no-trade clause to leave. First on the news was Jon Heyman."

This is a pretty big deal. Let's dive into the instant impact of this trade on the Cardinals:

Cardinals' rotation
It has been a reality that the Cardinals could move Gray since he opened the door to the idea of waiving his no-trade clause towards the end of the regular season. With Gray now gone, the Cardinals' rotation is left with Michael McGreevy and Matthew Liberatore as the two guaranteed arms in the rotation. Andre Pallante made 31 starts in 2025 and likely will at least have a shot at a spot in the rotation in Spring Training, but struggled with a 5.31 ERA. Kyle Leahy is someone who could also earn a role out of camp.

In the minors, the Cardinals have Quinn Matthews as someone who is worth a look in Spring Training as well.

Clearly, the Cardinals need to add at least one or two arms this offseason. Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom has said that pitching is a priority this offseason. Now, this is even more the case, even with the return for St. Louis.

The money
Gray initially was owed $35 million by the Cardinals in 2026 after signing a three-year, $75 million contract. On top of this, Gray also had a $30 million club option for 2027 with a $5 million buyout. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported that the contract is being re-worked to be a one-year, $31 million deal with a mutual option for 2027 with a $10 million buyout now.

"Source confirms: Sonny Gray traded from Cardinals to Red Sox," Rosenthal wrote. "Contract being reworked to one-year plus mutual option. 2026 salary will be $31M, mutual option buyout of $10M. Gray is essentially getting $41M for one year."

Where this matters for the Cardinals is how much of this will be covered by St. Louis? Passan reported that the Cardinals will be including cash in the deal, but the exact figure hasn't been reported as of writing.

The return
With that being said, let's look at the deal overall. Passan reported that the Cardinals are sending Gray and cash to Boston in exchange for left-handed pitcher Brandon Clarke and right-handed pitcher Richard Fitts.

"Full trade, per ESPN sources: Boston Red Sox receive: Sonny Gray and cash," Passan wrote. "St. Louis Cardinals receive: LHP Brandon Clarke and RHP Richard Fitts."

Now, again, the money is important here. But, getting Clarke and Fitts can be viewed as positives. Clarke was the Red Sox's No. 5 prospect. He's just 22 years old and had a 4.03 ERA overall down in the minors in 2025 in 14 starts. He made it up to High-A and was a fifth-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft.

Fitts is another pitcher with legit big league upside. He's 25 years old and had a 1.74 ERA in four starts in 2024 in his first big league action. In 2025, he had a 5.00 ERA in 11 total appearances, but dealt with injuries. The ERA looks bad, but he allowed three runs or fewer in nine of his 11 appearances in 2025.

The return can't be fully judged until the money comes in, but the Cardinals got two cost-controlled young pitchers while trading away an expensive veteran.