MLB Rumors: Sonny Gray, Cardinals ‘Expected to Finalize’ Contract After Twins Stint

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The Minnesota Twins were American League Central champions this past season, but they are losing a major driving force behind that success.

The St. Louis Cardinals and starting pitcher Sonny Gray “are expected to finalize a deal today,” according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal later reported Gray and the Cardinals are finalizing a three-year, $75 million contract.

This comes after the Twins extended him a one-year, $20.325 million qualifying offer in November, although he was widely expected to decline it even at the time.

Gray came to Minnesota as part of a trade with the Cincinnati Reds ahead of the 2022 campaign, and the AL Central team exercised a club option for 2023 for $12.7 million in base salary.

While he was among the best pitchers in the league last season, there was some question about whether it would be his final one.

“Wouldn’t shock me if I didn’t play any more after this year,” Gray said in July, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com. “Wouldn’t shock me. Do I want to? Do I think I can? Absolutely. And I can at a very, very high level. It’s not about the money. It’s whether you still enjoy it, and does your family still enjoy it.”

Gray also explained at the time that being a father will weigh into his decision.

“Does it still work with your family? Do your boys still enjoy it? Do they still want you to do it? Do they want dad to be home?” he said. “You think about it every now and then, just being real. But they love it, they enjoy it, they think it’s cool. It gives them a little bit of street cred at school. So we’ll see how it plays out.”

He ultimately decided to return for the 2024 season and will pitch for the TEAM at 34 years old.

This is another team for the veteran who has been in the league since 2013 with stops with the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Red and Twins. While there are some disappointing years in that span, the fact he is a three-time All-Star spread out in 2015, 2019 and 2023 for three different teams is a testament to his durability and longevity.

Gray was excellent in 2023 with a 2.79 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 183 strikeouts in 184 innings. It was the second time in five years he finished with an ERA below 3.00 and marked another excellent performance for the Twins after he finished the 2022 season with a 3.08 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 117 strikeouts in 119.2 innings.

He helped lead Minnesota to a division crown and playoff appearance this past season as part of an impressive one-two punch with Pablo López and then threw five shutout innings during a Wild Card Series win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Unfortunately for the Twins, their postseason run came to an end against the Houston Astros in the Division Series. Gray struggled in his only appearance and allowed four earned runs, two home runs and eight hits in four innings.

Yet it didn’t overshadow his excellent performance throughout the regular season, and he will now look to take the next step and compete for a championship with the Cardinals.

St. Louis is attempting to bounce back from a last-place finish in the National League Central, which ended its run of four straight playoff appearances. Pitching was a major problem for the team that finished 24th in the league in ERA (4.79) and clearly was a priority heading into the offseason.

Enter Gray, who will be tasked with helping lead a turnaround for the staff.