The 2026 Cardinals wish they could take this traded player back this year

This past offseason, the teardown and rebuild of the St. Louis Cardinals became full force. Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado, Brendan Donovan, and Sonny Gray were all traded to contending teams. In return, the Cardinals received a plethora of prospects to help the team in the future. While most of these prospects have been doing well and the need for pricey veterans was nonexistent, one traded player would help the Cardinals tremendously this year: starting pitcher Sonny Gray.

The Cardinals sent Sonny Gray and $20 million to the Boston Red Sox over the offseason. In return, St. Louis received pitching prospects Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke. Fitts started the year with Triple-A Memphis, making three starts with a 1.76 ERA. However, he suffered a lat strain in mid-April, and he's been out ever since. Clarke, 23, started the year off hurt, but he's since thrown 22 innings between Low-A and High-A with 31 strikeouts and a 3.68 ERA.

St. Louis also received Patrick Galle as the player to be named later. Galle has made 40 appearances with the Cardinals with a 6.35 ERA.

Nolan Arenado has been a league-average hitter (100 OPS+) this year with plus defense once again at third base. The Cardinals haven't had a player with that level of production this year, so there's certainly an argument that Nado would be a boost to the 2026 Cardinals.

Willson Contreras has also been a welcome offensive presence in Boston. He has a .900 OPS with 26 home runs and 79 RBIs this year, and that type of production is vital in the heart of any contending lineup. However, Jordan Walker's breakout paired with Alec Burleson's rise at first base has made Contreras's absence less apparent.

Despite these players' strong production this year, having Sonny Gray in the rotation would pay greater dividends.

If the St. Louis Cardinals were to take any traded players back, Sonny Gray would be the first one.

Gray has been a stabilizing force in a very tumultuous season for the Boston Red Sox. The story for the Red Sox in the few couple of months of the season was how they were underperforming. Since July, they've been one of the best teams in baseball. Throughout all of the ups and downs, Sonny Gray has remained consistent.

He has a 2.82 ERA with 128 strikeouts in 143.2 innings. He's been a stabilizing force for Boston's rotation. With Garrett Crochet having been out for an extended period of time and an otherwise inexperienced rotation, Gray has filled the leadership role well this year. He is also the lone righty in Boston's rotation, only adding to his importance in the Red Sox rotation. He'll be a key piece of Boston's postseason roster.

St. Louis's rotation has been relatively solid this year. Their starters rank 13th in staff ERA (4.09). Kyle Leahy (3.13), Andre Pallante (3.57), and Michael McGreevy (3.98) all have ERAs below 4.00. Adding Sonny Gray's dominance and propensity to strike out batters to the top of that rotation would likely give the Cardinals a couple more wins this year.

When looking at the long-term picture for the Cardinals, trading Sonny Gray prior to the 2026 season made plenty of sense. St. Louis needed to cut down on salary with the uncertainty surrounding their TV deal, and the prospects that Chaim Bloom brought back in return have helped boost an already strong farm system. However, it would be interesting to see where the Cardinals would be if they had a veteran ace like Sonny Gray in the rotation this year.

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