After a pair of middling additions, the Cardinals are finally addressing their starting pitching woes in a significant way.
As first reported by The Post’s Jon Heyman, the Redbirds are signing top free-agent starter and AL Cy Young finalist Sonny Gray.
The veteran righty is signing a three-year deal worth $75 million, according to The Athletic.
Gray is now the third pitcher the Cardinals have signed this offseason, joining Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn.
While Gibson and Lynn are shoulder-shrug additions since they project more as innings-eaters than frontline starters, Gray could potentially be a massive move for the Cardinals.
St. Louis ranked 24th with a 4.79 ERA in 2023, and entered the offseason with massive holes in its rotation.
Gray now slots in as the team’s ace after the ex-Yankee produced a 2.79 ERA over 32 starts for the Twins last season and finished second in the Cy Young voting to Gerrit Cole.
The 34-year-old has primarily pitched in the AL, but has experience pitching in the NL thanks to his time with the Reds from 2019-21.
Gray posted a 3.49 ERA during his time in Cincinnati, an impressive feat considering Great American Ball Park is a notorious hitter-friendly stadium.
The righty will now be back in the NL Central and try to help the Cardinals rebound from their 71-91 season, their worst record in a full season since 1990.
Cardinals GM John Mozeliak made it clear entering the offseason that the Cardinals would be seeking pitching, pitching and more pitching in a quest to get back on track.
“I think for us, our checklist is starter, starter, and then let’s see what we look like,” Mozeliak said this month, according to MLB.com. “We do have some position-player talent and depth there. So, we also do want to explore the trade market just in case we aren’t successful on the [free-agent market]. … We certainly feel like we need at least two starters.”
With their rotation now fortified in an expensive way, the Cardinals could look to potentially deal with their surplus of bats to help bolster other roster holes.
Gray joins Aaron Nola as the second top starter to sign this offseason, leaving Shohei Ohtani (although not a pitcher for 2024), Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto as the premier starting pitchers available.
With Gray averaging $25 million per year and Nola averaging nearly the same ($24.6 million), it appears that could be the bar for Snell and Yamamoto.