Surprising Starter Named Someone Philadelphia Phillies Could Pursue This Offseason

The Philadelphia Phillies would certainly make a splash if they pulled off this trade in the offseason.

Aug 24, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning at Target Field / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

There are a lot of ideas being thrown around regarding what the Philadelphia Phillies should do this offseason.

After coming up short in their quest to win a World Series title again, there seems to be some urgency from the front office to make massive moves that upgrades this roster to make it so there are as little holes as possible in every unit of this team.

During the first half of last year, that seemed to be the case.

The Phillies went into the All-Star break with the best record in baseball, and seemed to be a juggernaut with a dominant lineup and shutdown pitching.

However, things unraveled on the backend and during the playoffs, so much so that Dave Dombrowski has a bit of pressure placed on him by the fanbase to put together a solid offseason after Philadelphia was largely quiet last winter.

Trade ideas have been thrown around since free agency started, and after it was revealed the Phillies are shopping All-Star third baseman Alec Bohm, that only added fuel to the fire.

What they would be searching for in return is the question.

Moving on from Bohm would create a clear void at third, so they would have to fill that position in free agency or the same trade that sends him out of town. Philadelphia is also rumored to be searching for starting pitching and bullpen help, something that could be accomplished with a return package.

With that in mind, it's interesting to see Zach Pressnell of Newsweek say that starter Sonny Gray could be someone the Phillies pursue in a deal.

"There are two trade pieces on this list, so let's look at the cheaper of the two options, St. Louis Cardinals ace Sonny Gray. The Cardinals are entering a rebuild and they're expected to shop Gray around. Due to Gray's no-trade clause, he has full control over if and where he is moved, which could drive his price down tremendously," he writes.

What makes this intriguing is Nolan Arenado is seen as a potential target as well.

Perhaps Philadelphia gets aggressive and decides to ship Bohm to the selling St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for the veteran third baseman and starting pitcher.

Gray would certainly be a boost to their rotation.

He's coming off his third straight year where he posted a sub-4.00 ERA, and when the upcoming campaign gets underway, he'll be just two seasons removed from finishing second in AL Cy Young voting after posting a 2.79 ERA and 157 ERA+ across his 32 starts.

The right-hander hasn't been talked about much this winter because of how many elite arms are on the free agency market and the fact he does have that no-trade clause.

But if he feels like he can compete for a World Series title with the Phillies, that could certainly motivate him to waive it so he can be moved out of town.

The likelihood a deal for Gray gets done seems slim because there is little information about where he and the Cardinals stand regarding his future with the organization, but if he is getting shopped by his current team, Philadelphia could have some interest.