Dustin Pedroia returns
The Red Sox have made a move to bolster the top of their rotation.
As was first reported by Jon Heyman, the Sox have acquired pitcher Sonny Gray from the Cardinals. Richard Fitts and minor-leaguer Brandon Clarke will be heading to St. Louis in the deal.
Gray, who just turned 36 years old on Nov. 7, was under contract for the 2026 season at $35 million with the club holding a team option for 2027, which would pay the righty $30 million. According to Ken Rosenthal, the deal is being reworked to pay Gray $31 million for this coming season with a mutual option buyout of $10 million in 2027. (In a nutshell, he will likely be getting $41 million for one season.)
The Red Sox will be receiving $20 million from the Cardinals in the deal.
While Gray is a perceived top-of-the-rotation option for the Red Sox, he wouldn't seem to be the caliber of starting pitcher Craig Breslow was hinting at acquiring to team up with with ace Garrett Crochet.
The three-time All-Star is reliable, having pitched 180 2/3 innings last season, while making at least 28 starts in each of the past three years. In 2025, Gray went 14-8 with a 4.28 ERA, striking out 201 and walking just 38.
Gray has been pitching for St. Louis under a three-year, $75 million contract signed after the 2023 season. Before that stint, he had spent the previous two seasons with the Twins, turning in perhaps the best campaign of what has been a 13-year career in 2023 when he managed a 2.79 ERA in 32 starts.
Fitts, who came to the Red Sox prior to the 2024 season in the trade for Alex Verdugo, made 11 appearances (10 starts) for the Red Sox last season before seeing his season ended with right arm neuritis.
Clarke had been ranked as the Red Sox's No. 5 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, having been drafted in the fifth round during the 2024 MLB Draft. He started strong last season with SIngle-A Salem before struggling to a 5.08 ERA with Greenville (walking 25 in 28 1/3 innings).