Cardinals Reportedly Finalizing Deal With Cy Young Runner-Up
The St. Louis Cardinals had one clear goal going into the offseason: upgrade the rotation.
After making some wise depth additions earlier in the offseason, St. Louis reportedly is closing in on a big splash move for a legitimate frontline starter.
“Sonny Gray and the Cardinals are expected to finalize a deal today, via league sources,” the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported early Monday morning.
The 33-year-old posted a 2.79 ERA with a 183-to-55 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .226 batting average against and 1.15 WHIP in 184 innings across 32 starts last season. He led Major League Baseball with a 2.83 FIP and 0.4 home runs allowed per nine innings.
Gray’s stellar season was a enough for a second-place finish in American League Cy Young voting, trailing New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole.
With Gray, Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn joining a pitching staff that already features Steven Matz and Miles Mikolas, the Cardinals should have a top-half rotation in 2024.
That might sound impossible after the Cardinals’ disastrous 2023 campaign but president of baseball operations John Mozeliak appears to have done what was needed to get St. Louis out of the gutter.
The Cardinals could be thrusted right back into playoff contention with a few more ancillary pieces added to the bullpen and overall roster depth just one year after a last-place finish in the National League Central.
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