The St. Louis Cardinals are starting their retool, or rebuild, whichever word you prefer.
They got it underway Tuesday by trading Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox.
The veteran starting pitcher was never going to command a major return. He's 36, and the Red Sox will pay him about $41 million in 2026 after restructuring his contract.
That means as far as getting players back, the Cardinals sort of had to settle for whatever they could get.
MORE: Sonny Gray's stats in Fenway Park are really bad
What did the Cardinals get in Sonny Gray trade?
ESPN's Jeff Passan reported the full trade details late Tuesday morning.
The Red Sox got Gray and cash.
The Cardinals get lefty pitcher Brandon Clarke and righty pitcher Richard Fitts.
Fitts is a 25-year old righty who has pitched in 15 games for the Red Sox over the past two seasons. He has a 3.97 ERA in the big leagues with 49 strikeouts in 65.2 innings. He has started all but one of his appearances.
Clarke is a 6-foot-4, 22-year old lefty who has yet to make his MLB debut. He was a fifth-round pick in 2024 out of the State College of Florida at Manatee-Sarasota.
He topped out at High-A this season, where he had a 5.08 ERA.
So far in the minors, Clarke has a 4.03 ERA with a dominant 60 strikeouts in 38 innings pitched.
It seems likely the Cardinals would start him back at High-A in 2026 with the hopes of climbing up the ladder from there.
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