«I don’t know what they’re thinking exactly — but it was an interesting choice to me.»
«I don’t know what they’re thinking exactly — but it was an interesting choice to me.»
Craig Breslow and the Red Sox’ top brass got a head start to a busy offseason on Tuesday — striking a deal with the Cardinals that landed veteran starter Sonny Gray.
Boston dealt a pair of younger pitchers in Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke to pry Gray — a three-time All-Star — out of St. Louis, with the Cardinals also handing Boston $20 million in the deal to offset some of Gray’s reworked salary for the 2026 season.
Gray should be a useful arm in Boston’s starting rotation this summer. But is Gray a legitimate No. 2 option behind Garrett Crochet, and did the Red Sox give up too much for a 36-year-old pitcher?
Here’s what several baseball experts are saying about Breslow’s latest move.ESPNGrade: B+
ESPN’s David Schoenfield noted in his grading of the Red Sox’s deal that Boston didn’t exactly plunder its own farm system in order to get a solid arm like Gray out of St. Louis.
“Fitts could be a bottom-of-the-rotation guy, and given the holes in the St. Louis rotation, is almost certain to get that opportunity,” Schoenfield wrote. “His four-seam fastball, sitting 95-96, was an effective pitch in the 10 starts he made for the Red Sox in 2025, but he hasn’t really developed a trustworthy secondary offering.
“ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel rated [Clarke] the No. 9 prospect in the Boston system in August and while there’s obvious upside if everything comes together, he’s not close to the majors and the profile screams reliever risk,” Schoenfield added.
As for Gray, Schoenfield noted that Gray has plus stuff on the mound after leading all National League starters in strikeout-to-walk ratio — while ranking fourth in the majors among starters with a nearly 52 percent strikeout rate and holding opponents to a .135 average when getting two strikes on them.
But Schoenfeld added that Gray’s fastball was often hit hard last season — with opponents batting .370 and slugging .585 against his four-seamer.
“Can that be fixed? With a fastball that averages 92 mph, maybe not,” Schoenfield added.
