Cardinals' Sonny Gray: Reaches deal with St. Louis
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Gray agreed to a three-year, $70 million contract with the Cardinals on Monday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
The deal also includes a $30 million club option (or $5 million buyout) for 2027. St. Louis will also forfeit a draft pick and international bonus pool money as a result of signing Gray, who was given a qualifying offer from Minnesota before becoming a free agent. Gray is coming off an American League Cy Young runner-up finish in 2023 with the Twins, having collected a 2.79 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 183:55 K:BB over 184 innings. He could be the final piece of a rotation makeover for the Cardinals after they announced deals with Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson last week.
Gray will start Game 3 of Minnesota's ALDS matchup versus the Astros on Tuesday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
Gray's next postseason start will come after Bailey Ober and Pablo Lopez, who are slated to start the first two games of the series, respectively. Gray faced Houston twice in the regular season, giving up four total runs while striking out 16 batters and walking four through 13 innings.
Gray will start Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series against the Blue Jays on Wednesday.
Gray, who is a free agent this offseason, finished strong with a 1.54 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 36 strikeouts in 41 innings over his final seven starts. Pablo Lopez is starting Game 1 for Minnesota.
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Twins' Sonny Gray: Sharp over four innings
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Gray did not factor into the decision Thursday, allowing one run on three hits and one walk over four innings against Oakland while striking out four.
Gray allowed three hits over the first two innings, with the last one driving home JJ Bleday to give the Athletics their first run of the game. However, the right-hander would not allow another hit until being relieved by Kenta Maeda to start the fifth. Gray now finishes the month of September with a sparkling 2.00 ERA and 27:4 K:BB as the Twins prepare for the postseason.
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Twins' Sonny Gray: Hit with tough loss
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Gray (8-8) took the loss Saturday, allowing one run on four hits over six innings against the Angels. He struck out eight and did not walk a batter.
Gray was lights-out for most of the day, outside of a home run he surrendered to Jo Adell to lead off the fourth inning. Unfortunately for the right-hander, he still got stuck with the loss due to the Twins failing to provide any run support. Gray has now allowed one run or fewer in three consecutive starts and in six of his last eight, though he's just 3-3 over that stretch. He also has not walked a batter in each of his last two outings and carries a 1.96 ERA in September following Saturday's performance.
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Twins' Sonny Gray: Throws seven scoreless in win
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Gray (8-7) earned the win Sunday, allowing five hits and zero walks over seven scoreless innings against the White Sox. He struck out six.
Gray was staked to a three-run lead in the fifth, then cruised from there to earn his eighth win. It was an efficient and relatively stress-free outing for Gray, who never allowed more than one baserunner in an inning and needed only 81 pitches to complete seven frames. In 30 starts covering 174 innings, the veteran Cy Young contender is first in home run rate, allowing 0.36 per nine, and second in the American League with a 2.84 ERA. However, his eight wins are lower than any of the other top 20 pitchers who qualify for the ERA title. He's next scheduled to take the hill during a weekend series at home against the Angels.
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Twins' Sonny Gray: Takes loss in short outing
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Gray (7-7) allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk over four innings Monday, striking out five and taking a loss against the Rays.
Gray gave up a run in each of the first and third frames. He failed to complete five innings for just the third time this year and the first time since June 15. He's allowed fewer than four runs in nine of his last 10 starts, registering a 2.63 ERA during that span. Gray now owns a 2.96 ERA with a 165:54 K:BB through 167 innings. His next outing is lined up to be on the road against the White Sox.
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Twins' Sonny Gray: Logs quality start in no-decision
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Gray did not factor into the decision Tuesday, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks over six innings against the Guardians. He struck out four.
The veteran righty pitched well Tuesday, save for surrendering a two-run homer to Bo Naylor in the third inning and a sacrifice fly to Myles Straw in the fifth. The quality start was Gray's eighth in his last nine outings, as he has compiled a 2.65 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 54:10 K:BB across 57.2 innings during the impressive stretch. The 33-year-old hurler is tentatively lined up to face the Rays at home early next week.
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Twins' Sonny Gray: Hurls seven shutout frames
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Gray did not factor into the decision Wednesday, allowing three hits and one walk over seven scoreless innings against the Guardians while striking out five.
Gray surrendered a leadoff double to Steven Kwan to open the game before retiring the next 13 batters he faced. The right-hander allowed just three hits on the afternoon but was still unable to log his fourth win this month due to a lack of run support. Gray has now pitched at least six shutout innings in two of his last four starts while it was his second time this season hurling seven shutout frames. He's also logged quality starts in seven of his last eight outings.
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Twins' Sonny Gray: Rolls through seven frames
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Gray (7-6) allowed one run on six hits over seven innings Friday, striking out four and earning a win over the Rangers.
Aside from Mitch Garver's solo shot in the second inning, Gray was dominant while picking up his seventh win. Gray has given up fewer than three earned runs in four of his last five outings, posting a 2.48 ERA during that stretch. On the year, he's sporting a 3.06 ERA with a 151:50 K:BB through 26 starts. Gray's next outing is lined up to be a road rematch with the Rangers next week.
