The St. Louis Cardinals continue to aggressively attack the free agent pitching market, securing the signing of top prospect Sonny Gray on Monday.
The former Minnesota Twins first-line starter signed a sweet three-year contract worth $75 million to play in St. Louis through the end of the 2026 season.
Gray now joins Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson as the Cardinals’ backups for the 2024 rotation.Knowing they needed a big pitch to get back into contention next season, they went out, negotiated and added three weapons in a matter of hours.
It’s a team interested in winning. Cardinals insider Derrick Goold, a writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, analyzed Gray’s decision.It’s fair to say he put a positive spin on the whole thing.”‘
The Cardinals are buying innings in bulk…they looked at (Sonny Gray) as a guy who could be at the top of the rotation.’ “3 proven veterans,” MLB Now tweeted. The Cards finished 24th in ERA last season, and part of the problem is that their starters simply couldn’t cover much of the innings.
Rather, it put a lot of pressure on the bullpen and the offense. The front office decided to bring in three workhorses to complete the rotation.
All three arms topped 180 innings in 2023: Lynn had 183.2, Gibson recorded 192 and Gray had 184.If they stay healthy, expect them to approach or exceed those numbers in 2024 as the Cardinals look to get back on their feet and return to “contender” status.
