Sonny Gray Expresses Optimism Cardinals Can Win Despite 2025 Struggles

Despite where the Cardinals stand, their ace remains optimistic they can still win.

Aug 21, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays in the first inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals are longshots to reach the postseason this year after a tough two months took them seemingly out of contention. Even after winning three consecutive series, including one against the red-hot San Francisco Giants, the Cardinals are still 4 1/2 games back in the National League Wild Card race with three weeks remaining in the regular season.

Their chances of reaching the postseason are slim, and their best hope now is to play the role of spoiler against contending teams. Their next stretch of games will feature matchups with the Seattle Mariners, Milwaukee Brewers, Giants and Chicago Cubs.

On Sunday, after a 4-3 win over San Francisco, Gray spoke about the state of the Cardinals and expressed optimism despite their struggles.

Sonny Gray Expresses Optimism For Cardinals To Win

Aug 10, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) pitches against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

"No matter what the outside narrative is, you still have to believe that you can go out there and win as a group. If you lose that, it gets ugly and it gets ugly quick. I feel like we believe we can win, we’ve shown we can win at high levels. We maybe haven’t been able to sustain that at times, but overall, I feel like we’ve done OK, especially when we arguably have four of our best players not playing. We’re still hanging in there. We’re still showing up expecting to win," Gray said following Sunday's win over San Francisco.

The Cardinals entered what they called a transition period at the beginning of 2025. John Mozeliak will be stepping down as president of baseball operations and giving way to Chaim Bloom. Gray was signed to a three-year, $75 million contract prior to the 2024 season.

Gray used his no-trade clause to stay in St. Louis in the offseason and at the trade deadline, and he may do the same this coming offseason. But even though the Cardinals are transitioning, he remains optimistic that they can win in 2025 and find a way to sneak into the last NL Wild Card spot.

The main question would be whether or not the pitching staff can sustain in a playoff series, but Gray has clearly not lost faith in the Cardinals potentially making a run.

Alec Burleson is now off the injured list, so that could help St. Louis. Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan are also making strides and Willson Contreras will be back from his suspension on Tuesday.

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