MLB Trade: Cardinals Trade Top Starter Sonny Gray To AL Contender

As one of the top starting pitching trade candidates on the market, St. Louis Cardinals' top starter Sonny Gray had some teams interested. As of Tuesday, it's the Boston Red Sox that have won the day, acquiring the three-time All-Star. In return, the Cards receive RHP Richard Fitts and left-handed pitching prospect Brandon Clarke. The Cardinals also send back $20 million to the Red Sox.

Gray waived his no-trade clause to give the deal the thumb's up.

But insider Ken Rosenthal isn't sure that the 36-year-old Gray is the prime No. 2 arm that the Red Sox claimed they were searching for this offseason.

"I'm not sure the Red Sox did well enough, but maybe they see this differently."

By trading for Sonny Gray, are the Red Sox tipping their plans to spend big on bats rather than on a starter?@Ken_Rosenthal theorizes... pic.twitter.com/ef1fjTLV6W
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) November 25, 2025

"I don't know that he's a No. 2 anymore. You run the risk of his age coming into play... My expectation from the Red Sox was that they were going to (find) a starter who could slot in with some certainty as a No. 2 in a postseason series behind Garrett Crochet."

All that being said, Rosenthal admits that Gray hasn't really shown signs of slowing down just yet, and was fourth in the majors in strikeout-to-walk rate in 2025, behind only Tarik Skubal, Crochet and Bryan Woo. Gray also had his second straight 200 K season.

The key now, for Boston, is to go out and spend some money on a big bat as the offseason moves along. They could also still make a move to add another starter.

Clarke, heading to the Cardinals, was the Red Sox' No. 5 prospect per MLB Pipeline. The 22-year-old 6-foot-4 lefty made 14 starts at Single-A and High-A and posted a 4.03 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 38 innings.

Fitts, 25, has a 3.97 ERA across 14 major league starts over the last two years.