Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Rumors: St. Louis Predicted To Cut Ties With Veteran Ace

The Cardinals could move on from Sonny Gray...
Zach Pressnell|
Jul 24, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) pitches against the San Diego Padres during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Jul 24, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) pitches against the San Diego Padres during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are entering a rebuild of sorts, but they're also turning the team over to a new president of baseball operations.

At the end of this season, John Mozeliak will be stepping down from his position and turning over the team to the well-respected Chaim Bloom. Under Bloom, there could be some big moves made.

FanSided's Christopher Kline recently predicted the Cardinals would try to trade veteran pitcher Sonny Gray in the offseason when Bloom takes over as the president of baseball operations.

"This has been Gray's worst season in a hot minute. The 2023 AL Cy Young runner-up is still far and away the best arm in St. Louis' stable, but he's beginning to miss fewer bats and allow more hard contact. This stuff happens with age," Kline wrote. "Maybe he can bounce back next season, especially if he's in a better spot, but the Cards would be wise to get off of Gray with a full year left on his deal, rather than letting him tank his value any further before the 2026 trade deadline.

"All this hinges on Gray wanting to leave and essentially hand-picking his destination, but if Bloom can convey the direction of the organization with clarity, it's tough to imagine Gray sticking around for another year of noncompetitive baseball."

It would certainly make sense for the Cardinals to look to move Gray. This team isn't competitive this season and it's unlikely they can turn it all the way around in one offseason. With that in mind, it's unlikely Gray is going to be a top pitcher when the Cardinals are ready to make a World Series push again.

But Gray's no-trade clause complicates things. If he doesn't want to be traded, the Cardinals are going to need to hold onto him until his contract runs out.

More MLB: Cardinals Predicted To Finally Cut Ties With $260 Million Veteran

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Zach Pressnell
ZACH PRESSNELL

Zach Pressnell has experience covering all major US sports at both the professional and collegiate levels. He’s produced content for FanSided, Blog Red Machine, The Game Haus, Bethany College Athletics and the Bethany College online newspaper, He graduated from Bethany College (WV) with a degree in Communications and Media Arts, specializing in Sports Journalism. Pressnell was also a four-year member of the baseball team where he earned himself All-PAC recognition as a pitcher (and a cool Tommy John surgery scar). Now, Pressnell specializes in NFL and MLB coverage for Sports Illustrated’s “On SI” network among others. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "St. Louis Cardinals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org

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