Cardinals Keeping $75 Million Star Could Pay Off In Long Run

The Cardinals have been in plenty of trade rumors

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

There has been a lot of chatter about the St. Louis Cardinals already this offseason.

Most of it hasn't been that great after missing the playoffs for two straight seasons. The Cardinals organization isn't used to not having success. It's been a weird two years, but hopefully the worst is behind them.

A lot of the chatter around the Cardinals this offseason has been about who the club could part ways with through trades. St. Louis wants to rebuild the farm system and dealing players like Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray, and Ryan Helsley could be the fastest way to do so.

While this is the case, no-trade clauses already have complicated things. Both Contreras and Gray have made it known that they reportedly would prefer to stay in St. Louis. Contreras' decision was much more clear as the team announced he would be moving to first base.

Gray's decision has been reported but not discussed as much. It's not shocking the Cardinals would want to trade him, as he has two years left on a $75 million deal and could bring back a haul for a team that misses in free agency on players like Corbin Burnes or Max Fried.

Keeping him around is the right decision, though. It's going to be a transition year in 2025 before Chaim Bloom takes over the organization. Gray would give the team a dependable veteran to lean on throughout what could be a tough season. The Cardinals are going to be young and it's important to have veterans around.

If the season really doesn't go well, the Cardinals always could try to trade Gray at the trade deadline. He still would have one more year of control plus an option after that. The price tag for him may be even higher around the trade deadline if he can continue to impress.

The question of a no-trade clause would be brought up again, but if a contender could give the All-Star a chance to win down the stretch, maybe he would be willing to remove it. All in all, keeping Gray helps the organization. His performance on the field and ideally he would finish the contract with the club. A trade in the summer could be better than one now if he's not going to finish the deal.

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