Could This Ace Waive His No-Trade Clause To Join San Francisco Giants?

The San Francisco Giants could be the lone destination that this ace would waive his no-trade clause for.

Sep 18, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) points to the crowd as he walks to the dugout after he was removed from the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the sixth inning at Busch Stadium / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants saw their top remaining free agent target sign with a division rival.

For a while, it seemed like they were going to land Corbin Burnes and bring in another former Cy Young winner to pair with their ace Logan Webb. But ultimately, he decided to sign with the Arizona Diamondbacks and have left the Giants scrambling to find another top arm.

It's an interesting point in the offseason for new president of baseball operations Buster Posey.

He easily could sit back and be content with the addition of star shortstop Willy Adames, hoping their young arms develop into stars and get some needed experience under their belt as they figure out a way to compete in the loaded NL West division.

But, for Posey to make a statement that San Francisco is ready to become contenders again, he could be looking to make another splash.

There would be no better way to do that than land Sonny Gray in a trade, something he already told the St. Louis Cardinals won't happen.

However, things always change in the world of sports, and since the Cardinals are ready to start rebuilding, Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle laid out why the Giants might be the lone team that could cause the ace to not veto a potential deal.

"Gray already has told the Cardinals he won't waive his no-trade clause, but he has a close relationship with Giants manager Bob Melvin and he knows the Bay Area well, likes pitching at Oracle Park and, like most starters, would enjoy working with catcher Patrick Bailey and pitching with Matt Chapman and Willy Adames in the infield behind him. If there's a spot he might consider, it's San Francisco," she writes.

For San Francisco, they would love for that to be the case.

Gray might have had his worst season since 2018, but the right-hander still posted a sub-4.00 ERA and ERA+ that was nine points above the league average across his 28 starts.

Throwing in the pitcher-friendly confines of Oracle Park would likely help his numbers, something that should be scary for opposing lineups considering he had a 3.49 ERA and 135 ERA+ during his three seasons with the Cincinnati Reds before taking his game to the next level with the Minnesota Twins by posting figures of 2.90 and 144 respectively.

That type of starting pitcher would be exactly what the Giants are looking for, even if they would only get him for two guaranteed years before an option in 2027.

This is still a longshot.

Gray made it clear he doesn't want to leave St. Louis, and since Posey can't convince him to change his mind like he potentially could if the ace was a free agent, there is no direct path to landing him.

Still, Slusser lays out a great argument for why he could be interested in San Francisco.