Cardinals Could Cut Ties With $75 Million All-Star Via Trade To Red Sox

The St. Louis Cardinals’ ace continued his excellent start to the 2025 season on Monday, but how long will he be in a Cards uniform?

35-year-old right-hander Sonny Gray threw seven shutout innings versus the Houston Astros and improved to 3-0 on the year with a 3.13 ERA. St. Louis has now won all four games Gray has started this year.

But will Gray remain on the Cardinals past the trade deadline this coming July?

Hopeful contenders with a desperate need for starting pitching could soon be calling St. Louis about Gray. It’s hard to imagine the Cards trading Gray to a division rival like the Chicago Cubs (who are looking to bolster their rotation), but with possible American League suitors like the Astros or Boston Red Sox, St. Louis might entertain offers for Gray, especially if its current .500 record doesn’t hold over the next couple of months.

Boston is an intriguing potential landing spot for Gray. The Red Sox have a wealth of prospect capital to dangle in front of the Cardinals, not to mention young, tradeable players on their Major League roster like Ceddanne Rafaela and Triston Casas.

Boston has quickly run into a massive starting pitching problem with multiple arms on the Injured List and Tanner Houck off to a horrid start to the season. Beyond Garrett Crochet, there are no sure things in the Red Sox rotation right now — not a good situation for a team that entered the season hoping to contend for not only the AL East division but a World Series.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has been an aggressive spender recently, which means he might not be scared off by Gray’s $25 million owed this year and $35 million in 2026 (per Spotrac). Gray signed a three-year, $75 million contract with St. Louis back on November 27, 2023. The deal includes a $30 million club option for 2027.

If Gray’s start to the season is any indication, he could provide Boston with an excellent No. 2 starter in the rotation behind Crochet.

Now, if the Cardinals remain competitive in the National League Central standings, they probably won’t consider moving Gray. But the division promises to be a bloodbath with every team but the Pittsburgh Pirates looking like a legitimate threat right now.

Should the Cards begin to lose pace in the division, keep an eye on Gray in connection to the Red Sox.

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