The St. Louis Cardinals have made it clear that they intend to enter a rebuild of sorts. How aggressive this rebuild will be is not yet known, but there are some pieces that may be traded away.
Right-hander Sonny Gray is one of several veterans on expensive contracts that could be traded. St. Louis is expected to trim their payroll in 2025.
Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report proposed the idea of St. Louis shipping Gray to a division rival in the Cincinnati Reds.
“As the Cardinals try to overhaul their organization,” President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak has indicted that St. Louis will try to trim its payroll in 2025,” Kelly wrote. “Trades between division rivals can sometimes be frowned upon, but the Cardinals probably aren’t going to contend over the next two seasons. Gray would rejoin a Reds team that already has Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott, and Nick Lodolo in the starting rotation, giving new manager Terry Francona an exciting group to work with.”
Trades are rarely made within the same division, and this could cause Mozeliak to hesitate before dealing Gray to the Reds. But Cincinnati does have some solid young players that they could send back to St. Louis in such a deal.
The Cardinals also have made in-division trades before, with a recent example being the deal for Jose Quintana in 2022.
Moving on from Gray would allow them to shed some of his salary for the next two seasons and also pick up some Major League ready pieces that can help them as soon as possible and even expedite their rebuild.
In addition to Gray, Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, and Ryan Helsley could be shipped out. Gray could be one of the Cardinals’ most intriguing pieces that could bring back a decent haul in exchange.
It is obvious now that the Cardinals don’t plan to contend in 2025, so it would make sense to see if they can find any takers for veterans such as Gray.
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