1. The reconstruction of the cardinals in full swing:
The first shot of St. Louis’ rebuild was fired yesterday when the club traded right-handers Son Gray (and $20 million cash) to the Red Sox for right-handers Richard Fittsleft-handed Brandon Clarkeand a player to be named later or cash. The return replenishes the club’s pitching coffers, and the Cardinals haven’t hesitated to make it a goal this winter. However, there is plenty of extra work for the club to do, even with half of Gray’s money off the books. The team still hopes to trade Nolan Arenadoand a large number of young left-handed bats (led by Brendan Donovan) are also known for being available. The status of is less clear Willson Contreraswho would certainly be a logical trade candidate, but has indicated he would prefer to remain in St. Louis.
2. What’s next for the Red Sox?
Entering the offseason, the Red Sox made it clear that adding an arm to the front of the rotation to combine with was a top priority for the club Garrett hook and lead the way Brayan Bello. They probably did that with the Gray trade, as the veteran didn’t finish as a Cy Young runner-up until 2023 in Minnesota. However, Gray hasn’t pitched at that same level in 2024-2025, so the question is whether he actually achieves this goal. Regardless, it appears Boston will focus its attention on strengthening the offense for now. This can occur in many different forms. Alex Bregman, Pete Alonsoand even Kyle Schwarber have often been linked to the Red Sox this season, and there are reports they are looking into JT Realmuto also. Outside of free agency, the club has yet to take advantage of the abundance of left-handed outfield talent, and Boston also has plenty of MLB-ready pitching to dangle (and even fewer innings for those young players after the addition of Gray).
3. Will more pre-Thanksgiving deals erupt?
While deals for Thanksgiving itself are somewhat rare, the days leading up to the holiday often see a bit of activity as players and teams try to get some deals across the finish line ahead of the holiday festivities. We’ve already seen some significant trades between yesterday’s Gray deal and last weekend’s swap Brandon Nimmo And Marcus Semien. Phil Maton And Jake Fraley both completed free-agent deals in recent days, with the former going to the Cubs and the latter re-signing with Tampa Bay just days after going undrafted.
We saw them both last year Blake Snell And Yusei Kikuchi sign within 48 hours of Thanksgiving (as you can see with MLBTR’s Contract Tracker). The year before, each of Aaron Nola, Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson And Reynaldo López closed free agent deals in the days leading up to the holidays. In 2022, the Hunter Renfroe The trade between the Angels and Brewers came together the day before Thanksgiving. A few more deals on the trade or free agent market could materialize before tomorrow.
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