Boston Red Sox trade for St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray
by Alex Butler · UPINov. 25 (UPI) -- The Boston Red Sox agreed to a trade for St. Louis Cardinals veteran right-handed pitcher Sonny Gray.
Sources told MLB.com, ESPN and The Athletic said Tuesday that the Red Sox will send pitchers Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke to the Cardinals in the swap.
Gray, 36, went 14-8 with a 4.28 ERA over 32 starts last season. The 13-year veteran was 13-9 with a 3.84 ERA over 28 starts in 2024, his first season with the Cardinals. Gray was an All-Star in 2023, when he went 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA over 32 starts for the Minnesota Twins.
Gray went 125-102 with a 3.58 ERA over the first 339 appearances of his career, which included stints with the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds. His 14 wins last season tied his career-high. His 32 starts tied for the second-most of his career.
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The three-time All-Star is set to join a Red Sox rotation that includes Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello. The Red Sox had the fifth-best ERA in MLB last season. Red Sox starters logged the 12th-best ERA, while their bullpen ranked second with a 3.41 ERA, which led the American League.
Gray was on track to make $35 million in 2026 and had a $30 million team option in 2027, but is expected to restructure that deal with the Red Sox.
Fitts, 25, was a sixth-round pick by the New York Yankees in the 2021 MLB Draft. New York traded the right-handed pitcher to the Red Sox in 2023. He went 0-1 with a 1.74 ERA over four appearances in 2024. Fitts went 2-4 with a 5.00 ERA over 11 appearances last season.
Fitts also went 2-1 with a 3.60 ERA over seven minor league appearances in 2025.
Clarke, 22, was a fifth-round pick by the Red Sox in 2024. He went 0-3 with a 4.03 ERA over 14 minor league appearances in 2025.