The rebuild is underway in St. Louis. The Cardinals and Purple Sox introduced a commerce sending right-hander Sonny Grey and money concerns to Boston in change for righty Richard Fitts, left-handed pitching prospect Brandon Clarke and a participant to be named later or money. The Cardinals are reportedly together with $20MM to assist offset Grey’s wage.
Grey, who turned 36 earlier this month, opted to not waive his full no-trade clause final offseason when the Cardinals laid out their plan to take a step again and deal with participant growth moderately than their typical win-now mantra. Following the staff’s playoff miss in 2025, nonetheless, Grey publicly acknowledged that he would “undoubtedly” take into account commerce eventualities because the Cardinals lean even additional right into a multi-year rebuilding effort. “I signed right here two years in the past with the expectation of successful and attempting to win, and that hasn’t performed out that approach,” he stated in September. “I wish to win.”
He’ll get that chance to win in Boston, becoming a member of a Purple Sox rotation headlined by Cy Younger runner-up Garrett Crochet and an offense anchored by budding famous person Roman Anthony. Boston secured a Wild Card berth within the American League this previous season, and although they fell to the Yankees two video games to 1 in that sequence, they’re a transparent win-now membership with postseason aspirations. The identical can’t be stated for the Cardinals.
Grey was heading into the ultimate assured season of a three-year, $75MM contract initially signed in St. Louis, when he was coming off his personal Cy Younger runner-up efficiency with the 2023 Twins. It was a closely backloaded contract, paying the right-hander $35MM in 2026 plus a $5MM buyout on a $30MM membership possibility for the 2027 season. The contract stipulated that even when the choice was picked up, Grey might choose out and head again into free company.
That deal has been barely restructured. The brand new association pays Grey $31MM in 2026 and features a $10MM buyout on a $30MM mutual possibility for 2027. The amended deal reinforces the truth that Grey is a one-year rental — it’s been greater than a decade since a mutual possibility was exercised by each events in MLB — but it surely additionally comes with some perks for him.
Grey is now assured an additional million {dollars} — doubtless a kicker for him to waive his no-trade safety — and he’ll now obtain the total buyout on his 2027 possibility. Beneath the earlier contract, if the Purple Sox had picked up Grey’s possibility, he’d have forfeited the $5MM buyout by opting again into free company. Now, he’ll obtain a completely assured $41MM for one 12 months.
As a result of the Cardinals are kicking in $20MM, solely $21MM of Grey’s $41MM assure will depend in opposition to the Purple Sox’ luxurious tax whole. Grey has already acquired a qualifying provide prior to now (from the Twins in ’23), so he gained’t be eligible to obtain one from the Purple Sox at season’s finish.
Grey tossed 180 2/3 innings of 4.28 ERA ball in 2025 and had a extra encouraging 26.7% strikeout price and 5% stroll price. Metrics like SIERA (3.29) and FIP (3.39) really feel he was much better than his earned run common.
By at present’s requirements, Grey is a workhorse. Aside from the shortened 2020 season (when he made 11 of 12 attainable begins), the previous first-round choose has began a minimum of 24 video games yearly since 2019, averaging 29 begins per 162-game season in that point. Grey hasn’t gotten again to the extent of efficiency he displayed in that second-place Cy Younger end with Minnesota, however he posted a 4.07 ERA, 28.4% strikeout price, 5.4% stroll price and 43.2% grounder price in 347 innings throughout his two seasons in St. Louis.
Grey will be part of Crochet and Brayan Bello within the high three spots of supervisor Alex Cora’s rotation. The remaining two locations might be sorted out both later this offseason or subsequent spring. Rotation candidates embody veteran Patrick Sandoval (who signed a two-year deal final offseason whereas rehabbing Tommy John surgical procedure), righty Kutter Crawford (who didn’t pitch in ’25 owing to indirect and wrist accidents, the latter requiring surgical procedure), Payton Tolle, Connelly Early, Kyle Harrison, Hunter Dobbins and Luis Perales.
The Sox have a number of different beginning pitchers on their 40-man roster, together with just a few just-added names (David Sandlin, Tyler Uberstine, Shane Drohan) forward of the Rule 5 safety deadline. It’s a deep crop of arms that positions Boston nicely, each by way of navigating inevitable accidents subsequent 12 months and in exploring the commerce marketplace for additional roster upgrades.
In fact, the Purple Sox don’t need to completely store on the commerce marketplace for upgrades. Together with Grey’s $21MM, the Sox at the moment are projected for about $176.75MM in 2026 payroll, per RosterResource. That’s greater than $30MM shy of final 12 months’s spending, and it’s actually possible that possession would push the envelope even additional. Boston has trotted out Opening Day payrolls as excessive as $236MM prior to now. The addition of Grey leaves them about $21MM shy of the primary tier of luxurious tax penalization. The Purple Sox have paid the luxurious tax in two of the previous 4 seasons, together with 2025. Merely put, there’s ample room for extra spending.
For the Cardinals, the commerce trims $20MM off the books and brings in a pair of promising arms. Fitts is huge league prepared and will step proper into the St. Louis rotation. The 25-year-old (26 subsequent month) made 11 appearances for the Purple Sox in 2025, together with 10 begins. He was tagged for a 5.00 ERA in that point as a result of an excessive susceptibility to house runs (11 homers, or 2.20 HR/9). Nonetheless, Fitts posted a good 20.5% strikeout price and eight.2% stroll price within the majors, and he was stable within the minors as nicely (3.60 ERA, 21.3 Ok%, 8.7 BB% in 30 innings).
Initially a sixth-round choose by the Yankees again in 2021, Fitts landed in Boston by the use of the 2023 Alex Verdugo commerce. (Although new Cardinals president of baseball ops Chaim Bloom previously ran the entrance workplace in Boston, he’d already been changed by Craig Breslow by the point of that commerce, so there’s no prior connection between Fitts and Bloom.) Fitts ranked eleventh amongst Purple Sox farmhands in 2024 and twelfth in 2025, per Baseball America, whose scouting report pegged him as a back-of-the-rotation starter or multi-inning reliever.
Fitts averaged a hearty 95.9 mph on his four-seamer in 2025 and complemented the pitch with a slider, curveball and newly carried out sinker. BA’s scouting report on the righty famous that he struggles to overlook bats throughout the zone, and the numbers have so far borne that out. Fitts missed bats off the plate along with his sweeper/slider, however opponents made contact on 87.5% of his pitches throughout the strike zone — a pair share factors increased than the 85.4% league common. The addition of that sinker/two-seamer seems to be to have helped Fitts bolster his ground-ball price, because it loved a pleasant bump each in Triple-A and the majors, now sitting at 43.6% — simply north of the 41.8% league common.
Whether or not Fitts settles in as a fourth starter or strikes right into a bullpen function, he ought to pitch loads of innings in St. Louis this season. He’s controllable for a full six seasons, as he completed the 12 months eight days shy of 1 full 12 months of main league service. Fitts additionally nonetheless has a pair of minor league possibility years remaining, which solely provides the Cardinals extra flexibility with him within the years forward.
Clarke, 22, was Boston’s fifth-round choose in 2024. He sat fourth amongst Purple Sox prospects (and 86th within the recreation total) on the midseason rankings from FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen. Clarke ranked fifth amongst Purple Sox prosects on MLB.com’s midseason rankings. He was not included in Boston’s high 10 on yesterday’s newest prospect rankings from Baseball America.
Although he was drafted in ’24, Clarke didn’t make his professional debut till ’25. He cut up this previous season between the Purple Sox’ Low-A and Excessive-A associates, working to a mixed 4.03 ERA in 38 innings (14 begins). Clarke sits 97 mph along with his heater and attracts reward for a plus-plus (70-grade) slider. He at present lacks a mean third pitch, nonetheless, and his command is clearly a piece in progress. That velocity and slider combo blew hitters away within the low minors (34.5% strikeout price), however Clarke additionally walked a whopping 15.5% of his opponents — together with an 18.1% stroll price in Excessive-A in opposition to extra superior hitters.
Listed at 6’4″ and 220 kilos, Clarke has a starter’s construct and two potent weapons in his arsenal. The brand new Bloom-led Cardinals might be tasked with refining Clarke’s command and maybe incorporating a 3rd pitch to assist him extra capably fight right-handers, who drew a stroll in almost 18% of their plate appearances in opposition to Clarke. If Clarke can’t discover a third pitch or hone his command any additional, it’s simple to think about that fastball/slider combo taking part in up in a late-inning aid function.
General, it’s a pleasant return for the Cardinals, who safe an MLB-ready arm and a high-risk however high-upside prospect — all whereas trimming $20MM off the books. Right this moment’s commerce solely additional cements that the Cardinals are shifting their focus to the longer term. Additional trades are positive to observe, with Brendan Donovan, JoJo Romero, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado and Lars Nootbaar among the many potentialities.
As for the Purple Sox, they’ll pay a comparatively steep worth (each by way of {dollars} and expertise) so as to add a sturdy veteran starter with plus price stats and a pleasant postseason résumé (3.26 ERA in 30 1/3 innings). Grey clearly makes them higher, and the Boston entrance workplace appears comfy paying the next short-term worth to take care of some long-term flexibility. Whether or not they pursue additional upgrades within the rotation or now flip their consideration to the infield corners, the bullpen or their oft-discussed outfield logjam, the Purple Sox have payroll house and a pleasant inventory of younger pitching to present them loads of choices in additional augmenting their 2026 roster.
Jon Heyman of the New York Publish first reported that Grey was being traded to Boston. ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the Cardinals’ return. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported specifics surrounding the slight restructuring of Grey’s contract. MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reported the precise amount of money Boston was receiving from St. Louis.
