The St. Louis Cardinals appear to be heading into a rebuilding phase in 2025. After failing to address key weaknesses during the offseason, they could be staring at a last-place finish in the NL Central. One area of concern is their starting rotation, which is heavy on veteran arms who might become trade chips as the season progresses. However, Sonny Gray isn’t doing much to boost his trade value, struggling through a rough spring training so far. Katie Woo of The Athletic shared the latest disappointing numbers from his most recent outing on Sunday.
“That’s about as rough as it gets for a spring appearance from Sonny Gray,” Woo posted on social media. “Gray was pulled with one out in the fourth inning, his third consecutive roll-over frame. He threw 72 pitches and gave up 7 earned runs. So far this spring, he’s surrendered six home runs in just 9 1/3 innings. It’s been ugly.”
Through three spring starts, Gray has pitched only 9.2 innings, giving up 15 runs on 16 hits. Manager Oliver Marmol has attempted to ease his workload by utilizing the roll-over inning rule, which allows a pitcher to exit mid-inning and return to start the next. So far, that strategy hasn’t helped turn things around for the veteran right-hander.
The Cardinals must increase Sonny Gray’s trade value
Winning isn’t the focus in St. Louis this season. The Cardinals brought in former Red Sox and Rays executive Chaim Bloom to oversee their minor league system in 2025, with plans for him to take full control of the organization next year. They allowed Paul Goldschmidt to leave in free agency and explored trading Nolan Arenado. This is clearly a rebuild, and they’re not fooling anyone.
That’s why getting reliable outings from their veteran pitchers—especially those who could be dealt at the trade deadline—is crucial. Nearly every contending team looks to add starting pitching by midseason, and despite Sonny Gray’s struggles this spring, there’s still a chance a team could take a chance on him. But Gray will need to improve to get to that point. Meanwhile, Miles Mikolas, Erick Fedde, and Steven Matz—each on expiring contracts—are shaping up to be more valuable trade chips if they perform well.
Even with the lowered expectations in St. Louis, there are still reasons for optimism about the future. Shortstop Masyn Winn leads a young core after an impressive season last year. Outfielder Michael Siani, along with infielders Brendan Donovan and Nolan Gorman, are other key pieces the Cardinals hope can lead them back into contention down the line.
For now, though, it’s shaping up to be a challenging season in St. Louis.
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