The Boston Red Sox just made a significant addition to their starting rotation.

As first broken by Jon Heyman and later confirmed by Jeff Passan Tuesday morning, the Red Sox are acquiring veteran right-handed starter Sonny Gray from the St. Louis Cardinals. Per Passan, Gray had to agree to waive his no-trade clause in order to leave St. Louis and go to Boston. Passan soon added the return: the Red Sox are sending pitchers Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke to the Cards for Gray.

Ken Rosenthal later reported that the Red Sox are re-working Gray’s contract as part of the acquisition. His deal with the Cardinals was for a $35 million salary in 2026 and a $30M club option with a $5M buyout for 2027. The Red Sox are converting the contract to one year for a $31M salary and a $10M buyout on a “mutual option.” Gray is “essentially getting $41M for one year,” Rosenthal explained. MassLive’s Chris Cotillo added further context: the Red Sox are also getting $20M from the Cardinals along with Gray, meaning they’re essentially on the hook for “only” $20M for one year. So, virtually no long-term implications and a minimal investment for a pitcher that should at least be a top-3 option in the rotation.

Gray, 36, is coming off a 4.28 ERA in 180 2/3 innings in his second season with the Cardinals, although he did strike out 201 and lead the majors with a 5.28 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He is just two years removed from finishing second in American League Cy Young Award voting in 2023, when he led MLB with a 2.83 fielding-independent ERA (FIP).

The Red Sox will be Gray’s sixth major-league team. He also pitched for the Yankees from 2017-18. He’s posted a collective ERA under 4.00 in nine of his 13 major league seasons. Gray has also stayed reasonably healthy of late, averaging 177 innings over his past three campaigns.

Realistically, it’s hard to expect Gray to be that bona fide No. 2 starter behind ace Garrett Crochet, a role that chief baseball officer Craig Breslow seeks to fill this off-season. But if he regains his 2023 form (2.79 ERA, 5.6 WAR), he would sure produce like one.

There’s plenty of time left to see if the Red Sox make additional (bigger?) moves to bolster their starting rotation. But as of Tuesday, it appears that the Red Sox are betting on their coaching staff to bring the best out of Gray, and he’ll be the top-of-the-rotation starter they need to back up Crochet.

Matt, a North Andover, Massachusetts native, has been with The Sports Hub since 2010. Growing up the son of Boston University All-American and Melrose High School hall-of-fame hockey player Steve Dolloff, sports was always a part of his life. After attending Northeastern University, Matt focused his love of sports on writing, extensively writing about all four major Boston teams. He also is a co-host of the Sports Hub Underground podcast and is a regular on-air contributor on the Sports Hub. Matt writes about all New England sports from Patriots football to Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins.