St. Louis Cardinals Trade Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox in BLOCKBUSTER Deal – What Happens Now?

St. Louis Cardinals Trade Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox in BLOCKBUSTER Deal – What Happens Now?

The first big move of the Heim Bloom era has happened and it’s a big one as the Cardinals trade top starter Sunny Gay to the Boston Red Sox. Who else is involved and how does it affect the roster on today’s episode of Locked on Cardinals. You are Locked on Cardinals, your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. your team every day. Hey there, Cardinals fans. I’m JD Haford, a former national radio sports anchor, born and raised in St. Louis and a lifetime Cardinals fan. And welcome to Locked On Cardinals, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network. Thank you to our everydayers for continuing to be here with us. And for those of you who are new, welcome in. Hope you enjoy the content. This is a show serving Cardinal Nation and giving you all the info about the birds on the bat. Today’s episode brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. So, download the app today. On today’s show, we are discussing the latest roster moves by the team, which included the addition of a new face to the organization, but also the return of two guys who were just non-endered over the weekend, but have now come back. We’re also going to take a look back at the 2023 trade deadline and reexamine the moves that went down since one of those guys they brought back was involved in those deadline moves. But let’s start with the breaking news with the thing that everybody wants to talk about. Sunny Gray is no longer a St. Louis Cardinal and has been traded to the Boston Red Sox. In the first of many anticipated moves, the team has shipped him to Boston, uh, or I should say shipped him up to Boston along with $20 million in exchange for right-handed pitcher Richard Fitz, left-handed pitcher Brandon Clark, plus a player to be named later or cash considerations. Sunny Gray, 36 years old. We know this. He’s a a veteran, was set to make $35 million this season in the third year of that deal that he signed with the Cardinals during the 2023 off season. And although he may not have lived up to the expectations that some had when he came over from Minnesota where he finished second in the Sai Young voting that season, Sunny was still a heck of a pitcher for the Cardinals. You know, it was a heavily backloaded contract that went from 15 to 25 to 35 million. in the three years of the deal. $5 million buyout, $30 million club option for the 2027 season, which uh apparently was a mutual option. I think I read that, too. The contract stipulated that even if the option was picked up, Gray could opt out and head back into free agency. So, basically, it was a mutual. Uh he and Boston have already restructured what’s left of his deal and the new arrangement reportedly pays Gray 31 million in 26 and includes a $10 million buyout on a mutual option for 27. And because the Cardinals are paying $20 million, only 21 million of Gray’s 41 million guarantee will count against the Red Sox luxury tax total. In his two seasons in St. Louis, he combined to go 27 in 17 uh in 60 starts, had a 4.07 07 RA an RA plus of 101, 3.26 FIP, 1.164 whip. These are solid numbers, right? These are solid numbers for Sunny Gray, but not the number one type of stuff people expected out of him. The home run ball was a real problem for him. He he gave up 46 dingers over the last two seasons. Set a careerhigh this past year, serving up 25 of them. uh constantly having to do the neck turn because uh the home run ball was the was flying over the wall. It was it was rough watching that. Uh if he was able to keep the ball in the ballpark, usually had a pretty good day by Sunny Gray, but uh when he got it up over the plate, uh it was getting rocked. In return for Mr. Sunny Gray, the Cardinals are getting two young pitchers. You get a 25-year-old right-hander in Richard Fitz, aka Dick Fitz. Yes. Yes. Sometimes the jokes write themselves. And then 22-year-old left-handed prospect Brandon Clark. Now, Fitz was originally drafted by the Yankees. Okay. Uh these guys were with Boston after Hein Bloom left. These were not his guys, but he uh he was originally drafted by the Yankees, traded to Boston in the Alex Verdugo deal. He was their 12th rated prospect in 2024 according to MLB pipeline. Went two and four with an RA of five and 11 starts last season. According to his MLB pipeline scouting report, the grades fast ball 55. Remember this is goes to a grading scale of 80 being the highest. So fast ball 55, slider 55, change up 50, control 55. Overall he gets a 45 even though there are no 40s in there for whatever reason. I I don’t know how that makes sense, but um the writeup on his report states that both Fitz fast ball and slider play up because of their metrics and can be plus pitches at their best. Fastball sits at 9295, peaks at 98 with natural cut and ride as well as plenty of induced vertical break that creates carry up in the zone. He had a 29 to19 record with a 3.74 erra in four minor league seasons with a strikeouts per nine of 9.5. although at the big league level last year he was only at 6.7 but this was his first real shot at the major leagues 11 starts so uh it’s not like he was up there the whole year um Clark on the other hand very intriguing and I don’t want to say that that Fitz is like a boring guy or anything like that but when you hear what Brandon Clark has got um that’s the upside that that’s it’s a little more sexy if you will so Clark is their or was I should say their number five rated prospect this year. Now he’s no longer with them. Um is 22 years old, left-handed, was an Aball last season where he went 0 and3 with an RA of 4.03 and 14 start. But he’s got some interesting scouting grades from MLB pipeline as well. The fast ball remember 80 is the best. Fast ball 60, curve ball 45, slider 70, the change up at 40, control 45. Overall he gets a 50. the fastball and slider grades. Those raise some eyebrows for sure when you see that. When you see a 60 and a 70, you like that. Uh his report reads that he throws harder than most lefty starters sitting at 95 to 98. Can reach 100, though his fast ball features more downhill plane than riding or running action. Has unveiled a devastating slider this season with the pitch operating in the upper 80s and touching 91 with huge sweep as well as depth. He has rel relied heavily on his heater and slide piece. Uh rarely using an upper 70s curveball and an upper 80s change up with some mild fade. Both of which he struggles to land for strikes. He comes with a high ceiling and a good deal of reliever risk making him an intriguing development project. Now the baseball card stats for Clark, I’ll be honest, they’re not going to overwhelm you at first glance. His record three and five in the Miners RA of 4.93 over 25 games. 23 of those were starts in three seasons. Nothing all that great there, right? 59 walks in 65 in a two-thirds innings. Yikes. You don’t like to hear that. Control issues much. But on the positive side, 93 strikeouts in those 65 and two/3 innings. That’s a strikeouts per nine of 12.7. Now, according to John Denton, he will now be the Cardinals number seven rated prospect at MLB pipeline. The real question is, will the Cardinal be able to help Mr. Clark with those control issues, right? Will they be able to settle things down and get him to a point where it’s not feast or fathom when he hits the mound? Again, he’s only 22 years old. There is time to grow, time to learn, but think about it now. You got two lefty fireballers in your first round pick last year and Liam Doyle and now Clark in your system. Doyle will certainly be a starter and uh I am guessing Clark will remain one as well for the foreseeable future. Worth a lot more to the Cardinal if he can be a starter. But obviously when you think about fastball slider mix, you think reliever. So we’ll see what his future has for him. Uh 22 years old again. So, with Gray gone, that leaves the rotation um kind of what what’s a good word for this? Uh I don’t want to say empty light a little bit. Not a lot of experience in the current Cardinals rotation. Uh Matthew Liberator is there, Michael McGrevy, you got your newcomer, Richard Fitz, Andre Palante. I know Cal, he is set to be a starter as well. Matt was reaffirmed today. Uh I forget which one said that. Maybe it was maybe it was Jeff Jones. I was been going through so many uh things, but I believe he was the one that said that like he is a starter. That’s it. He’s not even going to tinker with relieving. He’s expected to be a starter this year. So um so got some work to do, but this opens up the door for you know you you’ve opened up some money. Obviously, you’re still going to be looking to trade Nolan Aronado at some point to open up some more money. They ate 20 million to get Sunny Gay out of town. How much will they eat to get Nolan Aronado out of town? I don’t know yet. Depends on what people want him. Um, but it opens up the possibilities of doing some some free agent signings, guys, as I mentioned, like guys that are looking to bounce back from some not so great seasons. you know, I wouldn’t expect them to go after any of the top dogs. So, don’t don’t think that’s going to happen. But again, a guy like a Dustin May still is somebody that I’m intrigued by. It’s people in that type of scenario that I think would be a good fit for the Cardinals. Um I I really don’t want to see Andre Balante in this rotation again. They’ll give them a crack at it again in spring training to see if uh they’ve been able to to fix any of the problems from last year, but I’m already over that situation. So, I would like to see them bring in some new blood. Uh, but they’ve also got, you know, some capable guys in the minor leagues. You know, where where does Quinn Matthews and Bryson Mottz sit in the in their depth chart of possible starters next season, but um it looks like it’s going to be a pretty young rotation. That that is for certain. I wouldn’t expect them to go out and sign somebody older than Sunny Gray. I wouldn’t put it past him if they need to, but uh I wouldn’t expect it. But we’ll see. You know, Max Sherzer’s older, people want him in a Cardinal uniform. So, we’ll see what happens. But, did the Cardinals get enough in return for Stunny considering his age, the contract stuff, the financial side? Do you think they got enough? Do you like the trade? Are you just glad that it’s done and we’re starting to move forward with things? I feel like a lot of us are are in that boat. But, uh, let me know in the comments section down below. Up next, we’re going to discuss the 40man moves that the Cardinals made on Monday. We will get more in depth into the Sunny Gray trade uh in another episode, but uh I want to talk about the 40man moves that the Cardinals made on Monday and how one particular move could signal that more moves are still to come. This is Locked on Cardinals. The NBA is back and there is no better place to get in on the action than FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Sometimes, you know, life takes over and you miss the start of the game. It happens. But with FanDuel’s live bets, they got your back. You can jump right into the action on everything from who’s going to score next to fourth quarter comebacks. Plus, if you’re feeling a little saucy, you can even combine your live bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout. Live bets is where it’s at. I’m telling you, when you’re sitting around, you’re watching the ball games with with your friends and you know, you have those moments where somebody will say, “I bet so and so happens next. He’s going to shoot a three-pointer here.” Or, “Watch, he’s going to foul.” Stuff like that. Now, you can cash in on those hunches with FanDuel. Right now, FanDuel is giving new customers $300 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. So, head to fandle.com to sign up and play your game with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Thanks for making locked on Cardinal your first listen every day and thank you for making locked on the number one sports podcast network. If you enjoy daily Cardinals content, you can follow the podcast on X at l_cardinals. We’re also on YouTube, Tik Tok, Instagram at Locked on Cardinals as well. Now, a move that is certainly going to please fans even if you’re a little like about the Sunny Grey stuff. A move that I I cannot imagine a lot of people were upset with is the return of catcher Joel Poso to the organization. There there weren’t a ton of bright spots for the team in 2025, but Poso was certainly one of them and an unexpected one at that. You know, the numbers again, they’re not going to jump off the page by any means when you go look at his baseball card stats. 28 years old, 67 games, 188 played appearances. the slash line 231 262 375 uh only five home runs 19 RBI’s hardly anything to get excited about, right? So, what’s the big deal? Why why is this something that’s important? Well, if you’re the sentimental type, which a lot of us in the Midwest are, you’ll love the story about Poso and what he endured during that co year when there was no minor league baseball. At that time he was in the Rangers organization. He’s in the minors. And since there was no minor league season in 2020, he and his wife and the kids were living out of a car. Have you ever tasted desperation like that in your life? I can’t even imagine what that’s like. I mean, I’ve struggled with money before, especially in my early radio days, but nothing like this, where he’s a young man in a new country just trying to chase his dream, and a worldwide pandemic comes along and renders you homeless and unemployed. Like, can you imagine how scared that family must have been? To survive that and then get back on the horse and play again is impressive. To reach the major leagues is impressive. I don’t care who you are. You got to respect that. Now, if that doesn’t do it for you, then his actions on the field. Again, numbers weren’t all that great, but the dude had some big, big moments for this team in 2025, especially as a pinch hitter, which is where he thrived. His pinch hit three-run bomb, that Fourth of July weekend against the Cubs at Wrigley. One of the best moments of the season. Anytime we can watch the Cubs whimper a little bit, we like it in St. Louis. The same goes for Chicago when it comes to St. Louis stuff. Um, you do things like that against our rivals. You show up to work each day and hustle and work your tail off. Plus, he’s got that infectious smile that, you know, kind of reminds you that, hey, these guys are playing a game. It’s a fun game and you should enjoy it. You should always enjoy it. The fans love him. Clearly, his teammates loved him as well. They named him the Daryl Kyle Award winner this past season, which is voted on by the players as like the most outstanding teammate. Um, the organization loves what he can do for them despite having a strong stable of catchers already at their disposal. I do want to say, let let’s get this out there about this signing, which is apparently a major league contract, but is a split deal that pays different rates depending on whether he’s on the MLB roster or down at AAA. He is not here, at least in my opinion, to take any time away from the guys at the major league level. That’s not what he’s here for. It’s not why he’s signed. He’s an insurance policy for a number of different situations that could happen with the Cardinals. Number one is the Ivon Herrera situation. He’s rehabbing from elbow surgery. Apparently, everything’s going well right now, but sometimes things happen. you know, maybe he doesn’t respond in his recovery the way they want him to down the road. So far, apparently, everything’s okay. Uh, but we anticipate he’ll be fine and ready in the spring, but we don’t know for certain. It’s not 100%. You just never know. We also don’t know how his catching skills are going to be in 2026 after not catching all that much this past season because of the leg injuries. They felt it best not to put him behind the plate after he dealt with multiple injuries to his lower area. You know, they wanted to keep him healthier. They needed that bat in the lineup. Now he’s going back behind the plate after elbow surgery. Things could go sideways. It could happen. So, insurance policy. Number two, Jimmy Krooks was a rookie last year. And although they do have faith in him and his potential, what if he falls flat on his face again like he did last year? You know, he got called up, didn’t didn’t play a lot, small sample size, but 133, one home run, and one RBI and 45 at bats. PU PU. That’s not good. That’s not good. What if what if that’s what he ends up coming out the gate with? Insurance policy in case something like that happens. Um what if the Cardinals trade one or more of their catchers away for other pieces? You’ve got Herrera, Pedro Pahz, Poso, Crooks, top prospects Leonardo Bernal, and Reo Rodriguez. Bernal was just added to the 40man to avoid the rule five draft. And after a strong year of double A last year, should be ready to start a trip AAA Memphis this year. Rodriguez could start a double A in this situation, but he’s only 18. He’s going to turn 19 in January. So there’s no rush with that one. Uh could go back to high A poria to start the season and just kind of take it from there. Let’s see how it goes. And if he lights it up at Poria, you bump him up Springfield. I wouldn’t suspect the Cardinals move on from her Herrera, who is one of their best bats. Uh certainly a fan favorite after his season this past year. Um Krooks is still a top prospect with Thump from the left hand side. Got a nice mix there with Herrera and Krooks with a righty lefty. But Pahz is arguably the best defensive catcher of the bunch. Maybe a deal goes down. According to Derek Gold, teams have shown interest in the Cardinals catching depth. So maybe something gets done. But Gold says it really depends on Herrera’s ability to catch and if he’s going to be healthy when spring ball rolls around and they and they like what they see. You know, if he’s doing a good job and they feel comfortable with him behind the plate, they can move forward with that, then they can perhaps pull the trigger on something. But for now, Poso gives them an insurance policy and can be at Memphis or with the major league team when and if they need them. So, it makes a whole lot of sense to me. I I I was not deteriored detered from the the signing and being like, “Oh my god, what are we doing?” No, it makes sense. They’re comfortable with him. Catching depth is important. Makes a whole lot of sense. Lot of sense. Um so well done bloom on that one. Uh he also brought back one of the pitchers that he non-tendered as well as signing a free agent arm that was with not one, not two, but three different major league teams last season has been passed around like a like a plate of appetizers at a party. Now he’s a part of the Cardinals. We’ll talk about them next on Lockton Cardinals. Thank you for making Lock on Cardinal your first listen every day. For your second listen, check out Locked on MLB hosted by my guy Sully who brings you a daily blend of humor in baseball throughout the offseason. You can find Locked on MLB on YouTube or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. The Cardinals need pitching. They they want to acquire pitching, lots of it. The goal is to stack as many capable arms as possible. If there is one area of baseball that you want to be rich in, it’s pitching. Starters, relievers, closers, lefties, specialists. Get them all. Get them all. Get as many as you can put on the roster. Keep them in there because they will always have worth on the market in dollars and in trade value. So, speaking of trades, one of the deals that Mosak made a couple of years ago is relevant here because Sim Robertson has also been resigned by the club after getting non-tender. Uh the Jordan Hicks trade with Toronto landed the Cardinals two pitching prospects. It was Roberta and Adam Clenstein and neither have really made much of an impact. In fact, Kloenstein I think he was back with the Blue Jays organization last year. They the Cardinals cut ties with him a while ago. Robertson till last year hadn’t pitched horribly. Five and four, 4.59 RA in 16 games, 14 of them starts for Memphis in 24 struck out 76 hitters and 84 and a third innings. But then he had the injury last year just four starts into the season and that was that. Still recovering from that. Um he was one of the guys along with Jerpy and Taka Roby who were supposed to be depth guys for the Cardinals down at TripleA and got wiped out last year. So that was a big bummer. Uh, according to Derek Gould from stltoday.com, the contract is for 2026 and it allows Robertson, who had elbow surgery back in May to continue his rehab, recover seamlessly with the Cardinals and make his return later in 2026. So perhaps there is some value still in this Hicks trade after all. But for now, that trade is a big fad. Not good. Uh looking back at that 2023 trade deadline uh when that trade went down, how did Mo actually do at that deadline? Let’s go back and see. The Cardinals move Jordan Montgomery. Remember that was a big trade piece for them. Huge for the Rangers because he helped lead them to a world championship. But they trade Montgomery and they get Taka Roby who got hurt last year. Tommy John surgery. He’s probably not going to pitch at all this year. But the future was very very bright. We loved, at least I loved what I saw out of Takoi when he was in spring training. He had some big games down in Memphis and unfortunately the injury got him. Uh Thomas JC, we like him. Utility guy at the big league level right now. What’s his future going to be? He was a Texas League MVP after coming over from the Cardinal from the Blue Jays and or for the Rangers. Sorry. Coming over from the Rangers and then playing with the Cardinals was was very good at double A. Solid at AAA. Kind of a loaded infield right now for the Cardinals. So, um I would love to see if SJC could play some help field to be honest with you. I would love to see that. But, um obviously he’s going to be on the big league roster this year. John King, solid piece for the bullpen the last couple years. They just uh non-tendered him. Jack Flity went to the Orioles at that trade deadline. Netted infielder Cesar Prito who made his major league debut last season. uh very brief, was I think one for six uh in his very brief uh call up, but hit 300 with nine home runs and 71 ribbies at Memphis last year. The guy we always knew he could hit. Again, he’s part of this infield where, you know, the Cardinals are trying to make room for guys and you know, it’s hard to look at his bat and go, “Oh, let’s get rid of that.” But I I don’t know. I don’t know what the future for Cesar Prito holds. um another left-handed hitter. So, you know, we wait, we wait. Uh lefty Drew Rom pitched for them right away if you remember, but injuries ruined his 2024 season. Then last year, he made seven combined starts at Memphis and at Palm Beach, going 0 and1 with a 3.86 RA, but in the four starts at Triple A, they weren’t very good. RA of 5.65 and 14 and a third. He’s now a free agent. They also got right-hander Zack Shoalter, who was still just 21 and last year 3-1, 3.48 480 RA in 22 games. One of those were a start. Uh he was at the Florida Complex League, then he went to Palm Beach, and then he went to Peoria. So, there’s still plenty of ceiling there. Plenty of time for Zack Show Walter to become something for for this organization. But, I mean, you look at those numbers and you’re like, okay, steady. Then you had Paul D. Young. Remember when we were like, just get something for Paul D. Young. Like, what can you get for him? Like, somebody wants him, right? Anybody? Anybody who want who who’s got room for Paul D Young Blue Jay said yeah you know we’ll take him got Matt sponsson in return and he became one of the best bullpin arms for the Cardinals last season is going to be a huge part of what they want to do in 2026 so obviously that’s a W there. So, there’s some good, there’s some bad, which is kind of how it works trades. That Hitch trade is definitely the worst return so far. That has not worked out, but hopefully Robert can uh come back healthy and be someone they can use in the future. He’s only 24, so there’s still time to develop and see what’s uh what’s what in this newly remodeled Cardinals farm system who hopefully will do a better job producing uh pitching. Now, the new face in town is Scott Buitt. Um he’s going to be 30 in April. Careerhigh 44 and a third big league innings last season. Pitched for three teams, the Twins, the Braves, and the Orioles. And actually twice with Baltimore. The O’s traded him to Atlanta in April, then reacquired him two months later. Combined for a 5.48 RA across 26 appearances, missed bats on 12.7% of his pitches, which I mean that’s not bad, but he he wasn’t really a big strikeout guy. below average 18% strikeout rate walking 9.3% of opponents three pitch guy slider fast splitter the slider is his main pitch the the idea I believe for him is just just it’s another arm to compete for a spot in the spring if it works out great if not it’s no big deal it’s no big deal like we’re not we’re not hurt by this but if you’re keeping track it and dick fits in 24 hours. Those are the names of the guys the Cardinals have acquired. What a time to be alive. What a time to be alive. All right. What are your thoughts on everything that’s gone down with the Cardinals in the last 24 hours? Sunny Gay trade. Poso Robertson coming back. Blew it coming in. More trades to come. What are you expecting in the future? like drop your comments down below. I want to hear from you. I need your feedback. We’ll do some Cardinal confessions and uh get more details about the Sunny Grey trade uh in our next episode. Thank you for making Lock on Cardinals your first listen every day. If you haven’t already, give us a follow on X at L_Cardinals and at JD Sports Radio, Tik Tok, and Instagram at lockdown Cardinals. Like, subscribe on YouTube if you haven’t already. You can help our channel and love for the Cardinals grow. You guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason. We will see you next time on Lock on Cardinals.

St. Louis Cardinals shake up their rotation by trading top starter Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox. Are the Redbirds heading for a youth movement or gearing up for more blockbuster deals? JD Hafron breaks down the Gray trade, spotlighting new pitching prospects Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke—whose upside could redefine the Cardinals’ pitching strategy. With $20 million sent to Boston and the rotation looking light on experience, questions swirl around potential Arenado moves and future free agent targets.

0:00 – Sonny Gray Trade Analysis
11:40 – Cardinals Roster Moves & Catcher Depth
20:10 – Pitching Depth & Trade Deadline Review

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