Cardinals starting pitcher listed as most likely to be traded by major outlet

2025 will be a transitory year for the St. Louis Cardinals. After focusing primarily on the major-league roster for so many years and neglecting the farm system, John Mozeliak, Chaim Bloom, and the DeWitt family are re-directing their attention to building internally.

This will likely lead to payroll cuts for the MLB team.

Even though $56 million could be coming off the books simply by players leaving via free agency, the team may seek to trade some of their expensive veterans. One such player would be right-handed starting pitcher Sonny Gray. Gray has already been mentioned by Bob Nightengale of USA Today as a potential trade candidate, but Bleacher Report recently listed Sonny Gray as the Cardinals' most likely player to be traded.

Gray, nearly 35 now, signed a three-year, $75 million contract this past offseason to be the Cardinals' #1 starting pitcher. He was coming off the best year of his career with the Minnesota Twins, and he played second in the American League Cy Young behind Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees.

In his first year with St. Louis, Gray finished with a 13-9 record and a 3.84 ERA, 3.12 FIP, and a strikeout rate of 11 batters per nine innings across 166.1 innings. He was prone to giving up the long ball, but he had a pretty strong season overall. He's due to make $25 million in 2025 and $35 million in 2026 along with a club option for $30 million in 2027 that has a $5 million buyout attached to it.

While there won't be a shortage of teams that would love Sonny Gray's services, what complicates dealing him would be his contract. He has a no-trade clause, and he's only getting more expensive as he gets older and older. Should the Cardinals find a trade partner and return that's enticing, Gray has the final say in any potential dealings.

He was adamant this past offseason that he loves St. Louis and that this is where he wants to play. However, with the team entering a window of potential non-competitiveness, Gray may wind up changing his mind.

The Cardinals could get a decent haul for Sonny Gray, but if they agree to pay off some of Gray's remaining salary, even $5-$10 million per year, they could get an even better haul of prospects in return. Josh Jacobs, site editor of Redbird Rants, brought up this point when comparing the returns the New York Mets got for much older veterans in Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander at the 2023 trade deadline.

In return (for Verlander), the Mets got Drew Gilbert, who was a top 70 prospect in baseball, and Ryan Clifford, the Astros' second-ranked prospect.

When Scherzer was traded to the Mets at that same deadline, the Mets ate $35 million of his remaining money, and were able to get Luisangel Acuna in return, who was a top 90 or top 50 prospect in baseball depending on which scouting outlet you looked at.

Several teams will probably be calling about Sonny Gray this offseason including the Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, and perhaps even the Cincinnati Reds.

Sonny Gray is still a very good starting pitcher, and he would provide a lot of value both on and off the field for the Cardinals in 2025. The issue is that he still has a fair amount of trade value. John Mozeliak and his team will have to identify the best route for their staff ace next year.