Breaking Down The Two Young Pitchers Traded For Sonny Gray

[Nick John]

Tuesday afternoon, the Boston Red Sox surprised everyone by making a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals. In a move that saw the Red Sox improve their major league pitching, they were forced to sacrifice some depth and a previously touted prospect for Sonny Gray. But did the Red Sox really give up a lot for Gray? When you really look at it, it seems that the Red Sox managed to steal Gray for two pitchers they may not have had much interest in anymore.

The official deal between the Red Sox and Cardinals saw Gray and $20 million shipped to the Red Sox in return for Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke. Of course, the first reaction to this trade is wondering why Craig Breslow would be willing to move on from Clarke after just one season, especially after he had made Baseball America’s Top 100 prospect list during the season. Clarke, however, was a huge risk of becoming nothing more than a reliever the further into the season he pitched. Clarke spent time with both Salem and Greenville in 2025, along with a few stints on the injured list. Making 14 starts, Clarke finished the year 0-3 with a 4.03 ERA in 38 innings. The key to his prospect billing was the fastball-slider combination, which paired a triple-digit fastball with a slider that showed considerable bat-missing ability. This led him to strike out 60 batters.

However, with Clarke, his biggest issues (and the ones that have deemed him a high risk of ending up as a reliever) were his lack of control and stamina. Despite throwing just 38 innings, Clarke issued 27 walks, hit 12 batters, and allowed 14 wild pitches. Of his 14 starts, he recorded more than 12 outs in only four starts. From June 26 until his final start on August 8, Clarke did not make it out of the third inning one time. Clarke’s command needs work because no matter how fast you throw, if you can’t throw strikes, you won’t last long in organized baseball.

Clarke’s final three starts saw him throw one, 1/3, and 2 1/3 innings, respectively. In those starts, he threw 35, 37, and 59 pitches. He struggled to get outs early in the count, and during his July 25 start with Greenville, all but one batter (the first one) worked an at-bat of at least five pitches. That start was the perfect representation of Clarke: a pitcher who could strike batters out but struggled to work counts to get quick outs while walking batters. In that game, Clarke pitched one inning and allowed two hits, two earned runs, two walks, and struck out three batters while throwing a wild pitch.

There’s no denying that Clarke is talented, but right now, as the Red Sox view their window as beginning to open, they decided they couldn’t wait and hope he figures things out. Instead, they decided to move on instead of being burned. Remember, not every prospect pans out. If they had, the Red Sox would have looked very different during the 2010s and early 2020s. Instead, Breslow decided to pull the trigger to bring in a veteran arm who performed better than his stats showed.

Joining Clarke in the Cardinals organization is Fitts, the first big move that Breslow made after getting hired. 2025 was an up-and-down year, both on and off the field, as Fitts saw himself shuttled between Boston and Worcester in between stints on the injured list. Opening the season in the Red Sox Rotation, Fitts pitched well through his first three starts on the mound until an injury in his third start halted his momentum. Placed on the 15-day injured list with a right pectoral strain, Fitts would see himself out of action until late May. During that span, the Red Sox saw Hunter Dobbins leap ahead of Fitts on the depth chart, but with the team still in need of pitching, they brought Fitts back early against Milwaukee, having him pitch on limited innings. The outing went well as he tossed three scoreless innings, but after that, things went downhill for the right-hander. Fitts would see himself be shelled by the Los Angeles Angels, allowing three home runs in the first on his way to a six-run, five-earned outing that saw him optioned back to Worcester after.

Fitts again saw a mix of success, making three starts but only making it past the fourth inning once (though his outing on July 1 was cut short due to a rain cancellation). After that, Fitts saw himself bouncing between Boston and Worcester, making two appearances in late July before being sent back to Worcester and recalled in late August for one appearance out of the bullpen, where he tossed four innings and allowed three runs. He would end up injured, this time with right-arm neuritis, which ended his season.

While Fitts dealt with injuries and inconsistency, the Red Sox noted how several of their young pitchers were developing. Payton Tolle and Connelly Early both made their major league debuts and pitched well enough to make the postseason roster. Hunter Dobbins pitched well until his season-ending injury, and prospects in the minors continued to develop as several pitchers leapfrogged Fitts on the depth chart. He had become expendable in a trade without hurting the team’s overall depth too much.

And so, Breslow pulled the trigger on the trade to send a lottery prospect and a depth pitcher for a middle-of-the-rotation arm. He showed that the Red Sox are serious about next season, all while keeping Gray only on the books for next season. He didn’t take on additional money that could affect the team, given a likely lockout in 2027. Breslow found a way to focus on 2026 and 2026 alone. And with the money coming back from St. Louis, the trade looks even better.

This is a trade that a team looking to win makes. Breslow knew it, and he didn’t falter in negotiations. 

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[TedYazPapiMookie]

We got a SP3 not SP2 so Early will need to step up a be the SP2 while Tolle needs to step up and be the SP4 with Bello needing to step up and be the SP5.  Early has the greatest upside of the young pitcher and Tolle's future depends on adding a pitch.  

Leaving enough money to get Realmuto was smart.  They need a real catcher because it's very likely Narvaez will be just like Wong, a one year wonder.

[Hugh2]

Fitts had severely fallen on the depth chart, and while Clarke is e there is a ton of reliever risk in him.  Sox have a lot of guys above him, he was trade bait at the deadline last year too.

as someone who didn’t initially like this trade m, I’ve come around on it after doing my homework 

[Larry Cook]

From what I saw with my own eyes , fitts tended to throw the fastball on one plane when his velocity faded. But when he had his velocity, his pitches changed plane and were harder for batters to hit. I always felt he could be a really decent starter if his fastball had more movement! 
 

unfortunately, I did not get to see Clarke pitch in 2025, but in 2024, command and control (literally pitch to pitch) were sketchy at best. 
 

I am still puzzled why we moved an asset like Fitts for a one year rental in decline