The Boston Red Sox pulled off their first big move of the offseason on Tuesday morning when they swung a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals for Sonny Gray. While the Sox achieved one of their offseason goals, which was to acquire more help for their starting rotation, folks were divided on this deal.
The perks of adding Gray are obvious. A three-time All-Star who is just two years removed from a second-place finish in the American League Cy Young race, Gray is a proven stud who is still racking up big strikeout numbers, even as he enters his age-36 season.
Whether or not Gray truly fits the billing of a de facto No. 2 starter behind Garrett Crochet, though, is unknown, and the high price (Richard Fitts and the team’s No. 5 overall prospect, Brandon Clarke) has folks wary of this deal. That group includes MLB insider Ken Rosenthal, who admitted he is unsure if the Sox got enough value out of this deal.
“I’m not sure the Red Sox did well enough, but maybe they see this differently,” Rosenthal opined on “Foul Territory.” “Maybe they say, ‘You know what? We’re not doing $150 million to Dylan Cease or Framber Valdez or Ranger Suarez … Let’s do one year with Soony Gray and do some other things to upgrade offensively.’”
There’s no doubt there’s a bit of risk that comes with this trade, but that’s true of every single trade that will get made this offseason. Gray has a track record of success, and the Sox are dealing from a deep pitching pool to upgrade their roster.
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It goes without saying that more moves could be made to reinforce the starting rotation, as the offseason is just getting started. Gray will eventually have a shot to prove his skeptics wrong, but first, the Red Sox’s front office has more work to do before the 2026 campaign arrives.