Could Philadelphia Phillies Make Trade For Veteran Cardinals Pitcher This Winter?

With questions still persisting in the Philadelphia Phillies rotation going forward, they could make a play for the ace of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Jul 5, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) throws a pitch against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park / Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies finished the regular season with a 95-67 record, an NL East division title, and the No. 2 seed in the National League.

One could only wonder what their record might have been if they had a solid fifth starter.

That was supposed to be Taijuan Walker when they handed him a four-year, $72 million contract ahead of last season, but despite a record of 15-6 across his 31 starts in 2023, his inflated ERA of 4.38 created some red flags.

This was even more present when manager Rob Thomson opted not to pitch him a single time during the playoffs, and after the veteran starter began this year on the injured list, things quickly got off to a rocky start during this campaign.

At the time, there weren't a whole lot of concerns surrounding the Phillies' rotation because Spencer Turnbull filled in admirably, but when Walker returned and Turnbull hit the injured list, that sparked a tough stretch every fifth day for the starting unit.

Walker finished 2024 with an eye-popping 7.10 ERA that earned him a demotion to the bullpen during the latter parts of the season.

He likely won't be used during the playoffs again, but Philadelphia is still holding out hope he can re-find his form and become an effective starter for them in 2025.

While that sounds good in theory, there has to be major concern when it comes to the likelihood of that happening, potentially causing Dave Dombrowski and his front office to pursue some other options this winter.

If that's the case, then the Phillies could turn their attention to St. Louis Cardinals ace Sonny Gray.

According to John Denton of MLB.com, they could make the veteran starter available in trade conversations as they reshape their front office by transitioning current president of baseball operations John Mozeliak out of that role in 2025 with Chaim Bloom taking over for him after next year.

"Much of Mozeliak's responsibilities in the coming months will be helping the Cardinals trim some of their payroll and long-term contracts via trades as they shift their focus more toward their young core of players. Highly paid veterans such as Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras and Ryan Helsley could be moved," he writes.

Gray has two years and $60 million left on his contract, making this an expensive addition if Philadelphia does decide to go down this route.

Considering Walker still has $36 million left on the deal he signed, they might not want to make this move if they aren't able to find a team willing to take on that amount of money for a pitcher in serious decline.

Still, Gray should be someone the Phillies are interested in.

Even though he had a down season in 2024 compared to his past two with the Minnesota Twins, he still posted a 3.84 ERA and 109 ERA+ across his 28 starts and 166.1 innings pitched.

The veteran would perfectly fit into the fifth rotation spot, providing consistent starts whenever it's his turn to pitch.

Depending on what the Cardinals are asking for in return, this should be someone on Philadelphia's radar.