Cardinals-Braves Sonny Gray Trade Idea Makes Perfect Sense

A big question for the St. Louis Cardinals right now is which veterans will be back in 2026 and who could be traded.

This was the case last year as well, but the Cardinals ended up not shaking up the organization as much as initially expected. It wasn't from a lack of trying. The Cardinals' front office spoke openly to the media about how they planned to trade Nolan Arenado and others, but no-trade clauses completely changed the trajectory of the offseason.

Now, the Cardinals find themselves in a similar position, even with a new front office. Chaim Bloom's job is going to be to figure out who to keep and who to let go, but those same no-trade clauses -- aside from Miles Mikolas -- are in play again. For example, Sonny Gray has been the subject of plenty of trade buzz over the last year, but he is still in St. Louis. Bloom recently spoke about Gray and talked about how there could be a "pathway" for him to continue with the organization.

We'll see what happens with that, but there will surely be teams that want him if the Cardinals do make him available and he's willing to waive the no-trade clause. MLB Trade Rumors' Nick Deeds attempted to put together a list of teams that could work for Gray and he was right to put the Atlanta Braves at the top of his list.

Sonny Gray is in plenty of trade buzz right now

Sep 24, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) delivers a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images | Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

"One of the clear best fits for Gray’s services is Atlanta, who were reportedly in on Gray when he was a free agent two offseasons ago," Deeds said. "Since then, the Braves have struggled to stay healthy and even fell out of the playoff picture this year due in large part to a rotation that was desperately missing Max Fried’s stabilizing presence after he left for the Yankees last winter. Atlanta has never been the sort of club to go out and spend hundreds of millions on an ace in free agency, so unless they change course this year they’ll need to get creative to add some certainty to a rotation that saw all of its established starters spend significant time on the injured list this year.

"Bringing Gray into the fold could be just that sort of creativity, and Alex Anthopoulos has long been comfortable bringing in veterans (like Marcell Ozuna, Josh Donaldson, and Charlie Morton) on short-term deals with high salaries."

It's hard not to see the Braves as a fit. The Braves reportedly were interested in him before, as Deeds pointed out, and they are the closest MLB team to his home of Nashville. Gray made it clear in the past that he wanted to be close to home. The Braves need pitching and are at least somewhat close to home for him. If the Cardinals do trade Gray, this move makes too much sense. It could be a win-win as well, because St. Louis would be able to move his contract off the books. He signed a three-year, $75 million deal and is owed a whopping $35 million in 2026.

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