Red Sox Bolster Rotation with Sonny Gray Acquisition
The Boston Red Sox have finalized a strategic move by acquiring the experienced right-handed pitcher Sonny Gray in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals. In return, the Cardinals receive left-handed prospect Brandon Clarke and right-handed pitcher Richard Fitts. In addition, Boston will provide $20 million to cover part of Gray’s salary. Gray, 36, waived his no-trade clause to join the Red Sox. Last season, the three-time All-Star posted a 14-8 record with a 4.28 ERA, not missing a start with St. Louis. Gray’s contract was modified to guarantee him $41 million: a salary of $31 million for next year and a mutual option of $30 million for 2027 with a $10 million buyout. With Gray’s incorporation into the rotation, along with Garrett Crochet, the Red Sox now have two of the five pitchers who have achieved at least 200 strikeouts in each of the last two seasons. Red Sox baseball boss Craig Breslow had expressed the need to reinforce the starting rotation, and Gray’s arrival provides Boston with significant pitching depth for the 2026 season. Behind Crochet and Gray, are right-handers Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford, with several left-handed options for closing the rotation: veteran Patrick Sandoval, 24-year-old Kyle Harrison, and a pair of rookies who pitched important innings this year, Payton Tolle and Connelly Early. Right-handed pitcher Hunter Dobbins suffered a torn ACL in July but is expected to return for spring training. Veteran right-hander Tanner Houck underwent Tommy John surgery in August and will miss most, if not all, of the 2026 season. Although the Red Sox have shown interest in the right-hander from Minnesota, Joe Ryan, among other starting pitcher trade targets, they opted for a short-term solution with Gray, who has played in the Major Leagues for 13 years, reaching the All-Star team in 2023. He has a career record of 125-102 with an ERA of 3.58 in 330 starts.When asked if Gray was the number 2 starter the Red Sox were looking for, Breslow replied: “I don’t know how much sense it makes in November to put a number on a guy.” “Sonny is a very talented Major League pitcher. The seasons he’s had quite consistently indicate this. That said, we still intend to improve our team. Exactly how that will be, we don’t know at this moment.” Clarke, 22 years old and with a height of 6’4″, has a fastball that can reach 100 mph, accompanied by an effective slider. He pitched 38 innings in Class A this season, striking out 60 batters, but giving up 27 walks, with an ERA of 4.03. Fitts, who will turn 26 next month, had a 2-4 record with a 5.00 ERA in 10 starts for the Red Sox in his rookie season. He struck out 40 batters while allowing 11 home runs in 45 innings. “[Fitts] has already begun his career in the Major Leagues, and with his power and willingness to attack the strike zone, he has the ability to start games at the highest level for many years,” said Cardinals’ president of baseball operations, Chaim Bloom, who previously held that position with the Red Sox. “Both have the potential to be part of our growing core for a long time.”“We’ve been pretty transparent about our desire to add to the rotation, and our desire to add a bat,” Breslow told reporters on a conference call later Tuesday. “I don’t think anyone wants to feel like they’re in the position of having to check off multiple items on the shopping list and feel like they’re running out of time or options… But we certainly feel good about our current situation.”
Craig Breslow
