The St. Louis Cardinals finished the 2025 season 78-84 and ultimately missed the postseason for the third consecutive year. They will now likely make some sweeping changes to the roster as a rebuild begins. John Mozeliak has officially stepped down as president of baseball operations and handed the reins over to Chaim Bloom, who has worked as an adviser to Mozeliak since being hired in 2024.
This rebuild will likely include St. Louis trading some key players that contending teams may show interest in. Among them is right-hander Sonny Gray, who recently expressed a willingness to waive his no-trade clause.
Katie Woo of The Athletic recently discussed Gray’s future and believes that if he wants out, the Cardinals should be able to line up a trade for him easily.
Sep 19, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
“Sonny Gray, like he said, 36 next year, 14th season was brought to St. Louis to be an ace and hopefully play for a contending team, and that’s not what has happened here. He said as much,” Woo said.
“He also went on to say he’s had conversations with Chaim Bloom, he knows the direction, he knows what the plan is. So, it’s up to him to make that decision.”
“If he decides to be traded, and my gut feeling is that he will decide that. I’m not worried about the Cardinals finding a suitable trade partner. I don’t see this being a Nolan Arenado situation.”
Gray went 14-8 with a 4.28 ERA in 32 starts and recorded 201 strikeouts over 180 2/3 innings of work this season. But as Woo notes, he is entering the final year of his contract.
However, unlike Arenado, Gray will likely have more teams that show interest in him this coming winter, as starting pitching is always in high demand. Because of the contract, the Cardinals may not get much in return for their ace. He is making $35 million in 2026 on his heavily backloaded contract.
Still, if Gray wants out, it shouldn’t be hard for the Cardinals to find a trade partner and set themselves up for a deal. Gray originally signed in St. Louis because of its close proximity to his home in Nashville, but the Cardinals’ rebuild obviously has him rethinking things. We’ll see where the veteran right-hander ends up if he decides to be traded.
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