Rumors: SF Giants had interest in Sonny Gray before he signed with Cardinals

The SF Giants were interested in free-agent starting pitcher Sonny Gray before he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Marc Delucchi | Nov 30, 2023

Rumors: SF Giants had interest in Sonny Gray before he signed with Cardinals /

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San Francisco Giants

The SF Giants have been aggressively pursuing free agent starting pitching early this offseason. Given the familiarity between Giants manager Bob Melvin, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, and right-handed starting pitcher Sonny Gray (#14-ranked free agent), it seemed easy to envision the two sides agreeing to a deal. However, a recent report by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic explained why Gray ultimately agreed to a three-year, $75 million contract with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Sonny Gray delivers a pitch in the first inning against the SF Giants at Target Field. (2023) — Minnesota Twins SP Sonny Gray pitches against the SF Giants at Target Field. (2023) / Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

"The Giants had interest in Sonny Gray, whose tenure with the A’s overlapped for two seasons with Farhan Zaidi and five with Bob Melvin," Rosenthal wrote. "Gray, though, was intent on playing relatively close to his home in Nashville, which is about a 4 1/2-hour drive from St. Louis."

Gray has been limited by injuries throughout his career and will be 34 in November. But he has also been incredibly consistent when available. He is also coming off one of the best seasons of his career. In 2023 with the Twins, Gray recorded a 2.79 ERA (2.83 FIP) with 183 strikeouts and 55 walks in 184 innings pitched.

A three-time All-Star, Gray immediately becomes the most proven starter on the Cardinals. After an extremely disappointing 2023 campaign, which included a complete collapse of their starting rotation and bullpen, St. Louis is trying to rebuild an above-average pitching staff. Prior to signing Gray, the Cardinals had already agreed to one-year deals with veteran starters Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson.

Sonny Gray would have clearly helped the SF Giants solidify their rotation heading into 2024, but the front office has their eyes on some even bigger names. Gray was presumably a fallback or secondary target, but with him no longer available, there's even more pressure for San Francisco to land one of the biggest names on the free agent market.

Published Nov 30, 2023

MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).