The St. Louis Cardinals worked hard last offseason to improve their starting rotation and were mostly successful.
Their major investment was a three-year, $75 million deal for veteran right-hander Sonny Gray. The 34-year-old made 28 starts for St. Louis in 2024, finishing with a record of 13-9 and a 3.84 ERA over 166 1/3 innings. He also struck out 203 batters and had a 1.09 WHIP.
Kerry Miller from Bleacher Report recently reviewed every significant offseason signing and gave St. Louis an A minus for the Gray deal.
“Sonny Gray was mostly solid in his first season with the Cardinals, albeit uncommonly unlucky,” Miller wrote.
“His ERA was more than a run higher than last year, but that’s mainly because it returned to a more normal level after an unsustainable rate of 0.39 home runs per nine innings in 2023, compared to the league average of 1.14 in 2024.”
Gray faced some issues with home runs this year, especially in away games.
He might not have performed like the top pitcher St. Louis needed for a World Series run, but he was reliable and provided much of what they were looking for.
They needed a pitcher who could strike out hitters consistently, and Gray did that. He did have two stints on the injured list, one for a hamstring problem and another for elbow tendonitis. However, he stayed healthy for most of the season and gave them valuable innings.
The Cardinals are about to start a rebuild and step back from contention. How aggressive they will be in this rebuild is still unclear.
Gray is a costly veteran, so the Cardinals might consider trading him if the price is right. Regardless, he provided much of what the team needed this season and helped improve their record from 2023 by 12 wins.
