The St. Louis Cardinals made their biggest splash yet in an attempt to revamp their lackluster rotation, agreeing with AL Cy Young runner-up Sonny Gray on a three-year contract Monday to anchor their staff heading into next season.
John Mozeliak, the Cardinals' president of baseball operations, already had signed free agent right-handers Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn to one-year deals. But Mozeliak also said the Cardinals were not at “the finish line,” and a week later, they have one of the best pitchers on the free-agent market at the front of their rotation.
“We were hoping to sign a couple of pitchers we knew we could count on for innings,” Mozeliak said, “and if we could accomplish that, we were hoping we could do something a little bigger, a little longer, and obviously that's where Sonny fits in.”
The 34-year-old Gray went 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA for Minnesota last season. He turned down a qualifying offer from the Twins, who get an additional pick in next year's amateur draft as compensation for losing him, currently No. 33.
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St. Louis will lose its second-highest selection. It could be a small price to pay for a big boost to their rotation.
“Where I am in my career,” Gray said during a news conference at Busch Stadium, “I want to win. I'm coming to an organization like St. Louis — the tradition, just walking in here this morning, walking around seeing everything — the history is there. The feel is there. It's just a baseball town and city and a place that I'm thrilled to be able to come and be part of it.”
The Cardinals went 71-91 last season for their worst record since 1995, and the biggest culprit was pitching. Their rotation had a 5.08 ERA, fifth worst in the major leagues, and when the bullpen was added to the mix, their 4.79 ERA ranked 24th.
The Cardinals only had right-hander Miles Mikolas and left-hander Steven Matz under contract for 2024, so it made sense for them to move quickly and sign Lynn and Gibson to absorb innings at the back of the rotation.
The 36-year-old Lynn, a two-time All-Star and part of the Cardinals' 2011 World Series title team, went 13-11 with the White Sox and Dodgers last season. Gibson, also 36, went 15-9 with a 4.73 ERA for AL East champion Baltimore last season.
Gray is expected to be right at the front of the rotation.
The former first-round pick of the A's spent four seasons in Oakland, struggled during the 2018 season with the Yankees, then had a breakthrough after a 2019 trade to the Reds. He went 23-20 with a 3.89 ERA over three seasons in Cincinnati.
Gray was dealt to Minnesota last year, where his season was derailed by hamstring and pectoral injuries. But he bounced back with the best season of his 11-year career, finishing second to the Yankees' Gerrit Cole in AL Cy Young voting.
Hall of Fame panel
Hall of Fame players Jeff Bagwell, Tom Glavine, Chipper Jones, Ted Simmons and Jim Thome are among 16 members of the contemporary era committee that will consider an eight-man Hall of Fame ballot that includes managers Jim Leyland, Lou Piniella, Cito Gaston and Davey Johnson.
Retired manager Joe Torre and former Commissioner Bud Selig, both elected to the hall, also are on the committee that convenes Sunday at the winter meetings in Nashville, Tennessee, along with executives Sandy Alderson, Bill DeWitt, Michael Hill, Ken Kendrick, Andy MacPhail and Phyllis Merhige plus media members/historians Sean Forman, Jack O’Connell and Jesus Ortiz.
The ballot also includes umpires Joe West and Ed Montague, former National League President Bill White and former general manager Hank Peters.
A vote of 75% or more is needed for election. Anyone chosen will be inducted into the Hall of Fame next July 21 along with players voted in by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, whose balloting will be announced on Jan. 23.
Leyland, 78, won 1,769 games over 22 seasons with Pittsburgh, Florida, Colorado and Detroit, leading the Marlins to the 1997 World Series title. He was voted Manager of the Year in 1990, 1992 and 2006, and he managed the U.S. to the 2017 World Baseball Classic championship.
Piniella, 80, won 1,835 games with the New York Yankees, Cincinnati, Seattle, Tampa Bay and the Chicago Cubs, winning the 1990 World Series with the Reds. His 2001 Mariners won an America League-record 116 games. He was voted Manager of the Year in 1995, 2001 and 2008. Piniella was voted the 1969 AL Rookie of the Year and hit .291 with 102 homers and 766 RBIs in 18 big league seasons that includes titles with the Yankees in 1977 and ’78.
Gaston, 79, had 894 victories while managing Toronto for 12 seasons, earning World Series titles in 1992 and ’93. He hit .256 with 91 homers and 387 RBIs during 11 seasons.
Johnson, 80, had 1,372 wins for the New York Mets, Cincinnati, Baltimore, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington, leading the Mets to the 1986 World Series title. He was voted Manager of the Year in 1997 and 2012. As a player, he batted .261 with 136 homers and 609 RBIs in 13 seasons.
BRIEFLY
FREE AGENT: Shōta Imanaga, who got the win for Japan in this year’s World Baseball Classic final against the United States, will become a free agent Tuesday and major league teams can sign him through Jan. 11. The 30-year-old left-hander was 7-4 with a 2.80 ERA in 22 starts this year for the Yokohama BayStars of Japan’s Central League. He struck out 174 and walked 24 in 148 innings. Twenty-nine-year-old right-handed reliever Naoyuki Uwasawa of the Pacific League’s Nippon Ham Fighters will also become a free agent Tuesday.
STAFF COMPLETE: Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt has rounded out his staff, retaining Sandy Alomar Jr. and Carl Willis — two long-tenured coaches under former manager Terry Francona. Vogt was hired earlier this month by Cleveland despite not having any managing experience. He’ll have continuity in Alomar, who will coach first base and the catchers, along with Willis, who has had a major impact in the Guardians developing one of baseball’s best pitching staffs.