Cardinals $75 Million Star May Be Open To Return, Per Insider

How will the Cardinals handle the starting rotation this winter?

Sep 12, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds during the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals will be looking to cut salaries and trade away some high-priced veterans, but that doesn't necessarily mean that everyone will be on the way out of town.

St. Louis has made it known what its intentions are for the offseason. The Cardinals have a lot of work to do to rebuild the organization and that will lead to plenty of movement largely revolving around trades of current players.

But, things could get tricky as some of the Cardinals' top veterans have no-trade clauses built into their contracts.

One player who fits this description well is ace Sonny Gray. He signed a three-year, $75 million deal with the Cardinals ahead of the 2024 season and the deal includes a no-trade clause. There already has been speculation about whether the team could trade him. While this is the case, Gray reportedly is open to returning to St. Louis, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold.

"Starter Sonny Gray is another veteran with a stout contract and a no-trade clause, though he's shown an openness to remain with the Cardinals," Goold said.

This doesn't guarantee that he will be back. We have a long offseason ahead of us, and people's minds certainly could change. The fact that Gray reportedly is open to returning should be a good sign, but we won't know for sure until we get a clearer look at the roster closer to Spring Training.

Hopefully, the two sides stick together.

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