Sonny Gray's Dominance Shows Exactly What Cardinals Are Missing

The Cardinals might wish they still had him.

Jun 28, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) delivers a pitch during the second inning against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images | Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals had a busy offseason. Chaim Bloom took over as president of baseball operations and immediately got to work, making four big trades.

One of the trades St. Louis made was sending right-hander Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox. Gray took the mound on Sunday night for the Red Sox as they tried to sweep the New York Yankees, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning.

Gray didn't get the win, and the Red Sox were forced to battle back to pull off the sweep, but the veteran right-hander continued a very strong season and showed exactly what the Cardinals are missing in their rotation.

Sonny Gray shows what Cardinals are missing

Jun 28, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) delivers a pitch during the second inning against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images | Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

The Cardinals acquired pitchers Brandon Clarke and Richard Fitts in the deal involving Gray. Both pitchers have dealt with injuries this season.

On Sunday, Gray punched out nine batters and allowed just one hit in 7 1/3 scoreless innings against the Yankees. His final strikeout was the 2,000th of his career. The Cardinals rotation has not been great this year.

They have a 4.19 ERA as a group, which is the fifth-worst mark in the National League. Without Gray, they do not have an ace. Meanwhile, the 36-yeaer-old right-hander is 9-1 with a 2.69 ERA in his 15 starts with the Red Sox.

While the Cardinals are rebuilding, they could be much better if they had somebody like Gray at the top of their rotation. Trading him wasn't necessarily a bad decision, because they desperately needed to rebuild, but even the efforts of Dustin May, Andre Pallante and Michael McGreevy aren't quite enough to keep the team in contention for the rest of this season.

Gray also brings a lot of swing and miss to the table, and the Cardinals are a staff that largely pitches to contact, which isn't exactly a recipe for success in the modern game. If the Red Sox sell at the trade deadline, it will be interesting to see if the Cardinals potentially try to trade for him and bring him back, because they could use an ace in their rotation for the remainder of the season.

Without Gray, they just don't have that piece to lead the way, so that is something that they are certainly missing right now. Gray could help the Red Sox turn their season around, but the Cardinals could use that steady presence in their rotation.