Cardinals Likely To Keep $75 Million Ace For 2025 Despite Rebuild

The Cardinals don't appear to be planning a major teardown.

Sep 18, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the second inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals are going to operate with a smaller payroll in 2025. This means they likely will not be active in free agency and will look to build from within.

Several players could be traded, and others will simply not be brought back after their contracts expired. President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak has stated that he wants the team to have "ultimate flexibility" in terms of finances for next season.

Of the players that could be traded, right-hander Sonny Gray, who was signed to a three-year, $75 million contract last offseason, is one that will generate plenty of trade interest with the Cardinals kicking off a rebuild.

However, Mozeliak recently stated that he plans to have Gray in the rotation in 2025.

"Going into next year, we still have Miles [Mikolas], Sonny [Gray], [Steven] Matz, [Erick] Fedde, Pallante and McGreevy knocking on the door. So we feel like we have some depth there," Mozeliak said.

So far, it appears as though Gray will stay in St. Louis, and this is ultimately the right call. The Cardinals just signed their ace last offseason, and they need to have a veteran presence leading the rotation, especially with several young players knocking on the door.

Gray can serve as a mentor for some of their young pitchers and help develop them into stars. Mozeliak also didn't rule out a potential addition from the outside.

"As the offseason plays out, we'll decide if there's something else that we feel like we need to add to that rotation, but we just want to go into it with flexibility."

Even with the Cardinals rebuilding, it is important for them to keep Gray around so they can at least remain somewhat competitive.

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