Cardinals may have dodged a bullet as former ace hits the injured list

In the third inning of his start against the Tigers, former Cardinal ace Sonny Gray left the game with an apparent injury. 

After delivering a pitch to catcher Carlos Narvaez in the third inning, Gray paused for a moment and looked as if he’d tweaked something. His catcher and manager noticed the inkling of pain shining through and rushed to the mound. Gray's day ended there, and now Boston will be without their newly acquired starter after he hit the injured list with a hamstring strain.

Sonny Gray was a force for the Cardinals

Gray was dealt this past offseason to Boston as a part of several big-time trades that landmarked the beginning of a new era in The Lou. His departure left a hole at the top of the rotation. Subsequently, Matthew Liberatore took over at the helm of the Redbird rotation and has pitched to a 3.67 earned run average through his first five starts. 

Boston marks the sixth different team that Gray has pitched for in his decorated big league career. The three-time All-Star owned a 4.43 ERA through four starts with the Sox before the injury bug stung his right arm. 

The Cardinal rotation has been anything but battered in the past few seasons. In 2025, the Cardinals managed to navigate through 162 without any major injuries to their starting staff, a rare feat in modern baseball. While most teams have chased production on a per-inning basis, like the infamous Dodgers rotation that seems to unearth when October rolls around, the Cardinals have leaned towards consistency and longevity. 

The Cardinals are supposed to have talent to spare

In 2026, St. Louis rolled out one of the first rotations in years that sported “high upside arms,” as MLB analyst Greg Amsinger put it. Dustin May, Kyle Leahy, and Matthew Liberatore all qualify as such.

Even with a rotation that has a high ceiling, success is anything but promised. In fact, the St. Louis rotation has been middling all season. 

As an entire staff, the Redbirds have given up the sixth most hits and own the 24th best WHIP. One thing that Gray always promised during his time as a Cardinal was strike three. 

St. Louis may have dodged a bullet via an early-season injury, but without a new machete-type arm that cuts down the opposition, they’ve yet to replace what they had in Gray. 

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