What Red Sox Are Getting In Trade Acquisition Sonny Gray

The Boston Red Sox made their first major splash of the offseason on Tuesday when they acquired Sonny Gray from the St. Louis Cardinals. Gray, 36, is coming off a season in which he posted a 4.28 ERA over 180 2/3 innings.

The Red Sox have stated their interest in acquiring a number two pitcher to pair with Garrett Crochet. Gray is a three-time all-star, but his performance has fluctuated throughout his career. While his most recent ERA isn’t indicative of a frontline arm, his strikeout rate of 26.7% and walk rate of 5% are encouraging.

Gray uses seven different pitches to attack hitters, featuring five of them over 10% of the time. His four-seam fastball is his most used pitch at 23%, a number the Red Sox are almost certain to bring down. The pitch comes in at about 92 mph with a pedestrian shape and doesn’t miss bats frequently. He primarily features the pitch against lefties, but could opt to use more cut fastballs as a replacement. His four-seam fastball already comes with cut, so there’ is’s a case to be made for leaning into the cut and opting for a more traditional cutter.

Despite not being overpowering, Gray’s “kitchen sink” approach was able to keep lefties on their heels. His fastball returned a 19% called strike rate against lefties, allowing him to work from ahead in counts frequently. Similarly, he likes to drop in early curveballs for called strikes. Once ahead, he turns to his sweeper, which posted a huge 25.9% swinging strike rate and 31.4% putaway rate against lefties.

Against righties, he opts for more sinkers, primarily throwing them to the backdoor for called strikes. It’s been an effective approach, returning a 71% strike rate and a low ideal contact rate against it. He’s able to play his four-seam fastball off the pitch as well, hitting the outside edge against righties for called strikes. Again, once ahead, he turns to his sweeper, which is very effective at putting hitters away.

Gray had multiple blow-up outings this season, causing his ERA to balloon. They were in part due to home runs — Gray allowed 25 in 2025. While Fenway Park isn’t the best setting for keeping the ball in the yard, Gray’s 22.7% home run/fly ball rate is well above the league average and should see positive regression.

Gray also doesn’t generate a ton of in-zone swings and misses. Red Sox pitching coach Andrew Bailey has emphasized winning in the strike zone as a key for Boston. Gray relies more on called strikes to get ahead and chases to put hitters away. Given his arsenal, that’s not something that’s likely to change with a new team.

The Red Sox are one of the most analytically forward teams in Major League Baseball. While Gray is an established veteran, they’ll likely have a plan to maximize his arsenal. He elevated his four-seam fastball more than ever against lefties this season,

Overall, Red Sox fans should be excited by the acquisition. While Gray isn’t going to overpower hitters as Garrett Crochet does, his command allows him to keep hitters on their heels, and his ability to spin the baseball leads to strikeouts. He’s also a veteran with playoff experience, something the Boston pitching brass sorely lacked before the trade.