Sonny Gray’s dismal debut season with the St. Louis Cardinals has officially ended.
The St. Louis Cardinals have been formally eliminated from playoff contention, capping another poor season for the team under president of baseball operations John Mozeliak. To cap off a disappointing year, the team has placed starting pitcher Sonny Gray on the 15-day disabled list, thus ending his season.
Gray will miss time due to flexor tendonitis in his right forearm, according to St. Louis. In a matching move, the Cardinals recalled Kyle Leahy from Triple-A Memphis.
John Mozeliak’s prized Cardinals addition, Sonny Gray, done for the year after an uninspiring 2024
Finally, Gray’s first season in St. Louis comes to a disappointing end. He went 13-9 with a 3.84 ERA, 1.088 WHIP, and 203 strikeouts in 166.1 innings of work. Despite his impressive performances, Mozeliak made him one of the highest-paid pitchers in free agency last offseason. Naturally, Cardinals fans expected more out of the right-hander after he received a large paycheck.
Gray inked a three-year contract with the Cardinals worth $75 million in March. In 2023, he finished second to New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in the AL Cy Young voting while playing for the Minnesota Twins. His first season at St. Louis was not as successful, as the 34-year-old regressed significantly.
While Mozeliak and the Cardinals expected a top-of-the-rotation arm, Gray proved to be a more modest alternative. The three-time All-Star led a group of veteran starters that St. Louis recruited, including Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson. However, things did not go as planned, which is perhaps one of the more significant reasons they did not qualify for the postseason.
Gray’s performance dipped after a promising start in 2024. His splits before and after June are eye-opening. Perhaps the wear and tear took its toll on him, or his health played a role in his troubles. Nonetheless, it’s a worrying tendency for the Cardinals, given their huge investment in the pitcher.
