Red Sox add Sonny Gray to rotation in trade, while Cardinals pick up pair of young pitchers

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The Boston Red Sox bolstered their pitching rotation on Tuesday. When the 2026 MLB season opens, Sonny Gray will be wearing a Red Sox uniform instead of a St. Louis Cardinals one. 

The Cardinals agreed to trade the 36-year-old right-hander in exchange for pitcher Richard Fitts and 22-year-old left-handed prospect Brandon Clarke. St. Louis will also take on $20 million of Gray’s salary next season, according to multiple reports.

The Red Sox struggled with pitching depth behind ace Garrett Crochet last season. Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said Gray helps fill a need the team made clear it wanted to address this offseason.

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Sonny Gray of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches against the Guardians at Progressive Field on June 27, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio. (Nick Cammett/Getty Images)

"We’ve been pretty transparent about our desire to add to the rotation, and our desire to add a bat," Breslow said in a conference call with reporters. "I don’t think anybody wants to feel like they’re in a position of having to check off multiple items on the shopping list and feel like you’re either running out of time or running out of options. ... But certainly we feel good about where we sit today."

Gray joined the Cardinals in 2024. He went 14-8 and posted a 4.28 ERA last season.

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"When you think about what Sonny has been in this league, it’s a guy who’s pitched at the front of rotations," Breslow added. "Those things that we think pitchers carry from year to year are things like strikeout rates and walk rates and