What does the St. Louis Cardinals 2026 rotation look like after trading Sonny Gray?

In the first major move of his tenure as St. Louis Cardinals President of Baseball Operations, Chaim Bloom traded away resident ace and veteran starting pitcher Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox. In return, the Red Sox sent pitching prospect Brandon Clarke, who became St. Louis's No. 7 prospect, and starting pitcher Richard Fitts. The Cardinals also sent $20 million to Boston to help offset some of Gray's contract for 2026.

Gray was a vital contributor to the Cardinals' rotation for the last two years, and this trade now creates a large gap at the top of the club's 2026 rotation. St. Louis will no longer boast a top-15 starting pitcher to help guide a very young staff.

The St. Louis Cardinals will have a lackluster starting rotation in 2026 after trading away Sonny Gray.

The 2026 rotation will now be far from ideal without Sonny Gray leading the pack. Barring any trades, which is highly unlikely given Chaim Bloom's language thus far this offseason, the Cardinals will enter the 2026 season with a rotation that will provide plenty of opportunities for young pitchers to make their mark.

Matthew Liberatore will likely slot in as the club's #1 pitcher next year. Liberatore finished the 2025 season, his first as a full-fledged starting pitcher, with an 8-12 record and a 4.21 ERA across 29 starts and 151.2 innings. He struck out 18.8% of batters he faced and walked only 6.2% of them. Liberatore just turned 26, and he'll look to take a big step forward in 2026.

Behind Liberatore will come a mixture of Michael McGreevy, Andre Pallante, Kyle Leahy, and the newly-acquired Richard Fitts. McGreevy made only 17 appearances last year, 16 starts, and threw 95.2 MLB innings. He finished the year with a 4.42 ERA. He's primarily a groundball and control specialist.

Andre Pallante posted strong numbers in 2024, but he couldn't follow that up with a successful year in 2025. He was one of the worst starters in the majors last year with a 5.31 ERA across 162.2 innings. He allowed 21 home runs and struck out only 15.5% of the batters he faced.

The fourth spot in the rotation could be filled with Richard Fitts. Fitts, who turns 26 in December, has made 15 major-league starts in his young career with an ERA of 3.97. He's struck out 49 batters in 65.2 career innings. Fitts profiles best as a back-end starting pitcher with a deep pitch mix and plus control.

The last starting pitcher for the 2026 rotation is a bit murkier than the first four spots. It will likely be a competition between Kyle Leahy and Quinn Mathews. Leahy was a reliable reliever for manager Oliver Marmol in 2025, posting a 3.07 ERA across 62 appearances and 88 innings. He struck out 80 batters and finished the year with a 1.227 WHIP.

Mathews struggled in his first full season at Triple-A. The Cardinals' fifth-overall prospect finished the year with a 3.97 ERA across 22 starts with Memphis. He had trouble adjusting to the major-league ball, and injuries began popping up for the 25-year-old southpaw.

The offseason is still young. Trades of Brendan Donovan and/or Nolan Arenado could bring back reliable starting pitchers with team control. The rotation we see now in late November likely won't be the one we see on Opening Day.

A rotation that includes Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, Andre Pallante, Richard Fitts, Kyle Leahy, and Quinn Mathews has an average age of 25.7 years old. For a rebuilding team, that's a logical average age. The Cardinals won't be relying on their rotation next year with this motley crew, but it will provide a good look into what the future might hold for St. Louis starters.