Sonny Gray Is In Boston — What's Next For The Red Sox?

[Nick John]

With the trade for Sonny Gray completed, the Boston Red Sox have begun their construction of their 2026 roster as the team hopes to improve upon their Wild Card Round finish. With Gray, the Red Sox have now acquired a pitcher who can provide them quality innings and strikeout opposing batters while limiting walks. While Gray is not the number two starter fans have dreamed of pairing with ace Garrett Crochet, he is a dependable arm for a rotation that was struggling to get quality starts near the end of the season.

Along with Gray, the St. Louis Cardinals sent $20 million to cover nearly half of the $41 million he will be owed on his reworked contract. The deal, which was originally $35 million for the season along with a $30 million team option or a $5 million buyout for the 2027 season, was changed to become a $31 million contract with a mutual option buyout of $10 million for what will amount to $41 million. The Red Sox will be on the hook for $21 million of it.

With that, the team has effectively replaced Lucas Giolito for Gray and will still have some money to work with along with several players in their organization to trade. The idea of taking on Gray and his bloated one-year contract is a sign from management that they’re willing to go for a championship prior to the upcoming lockout. It’ll be likely the team looks to add to the rotation through a separate move, but for the time being their, next target is to add an impact bat.

According to MassLive's Chris Cotillo, the Red Sox are now shifting their attention toward acquiring lineup reinforcements. With glaring holes at three of the four infield positions, it only makes sense that the team will now focus on the offense before returning to the rotation. While Gray is not a bona fide number two starter at this point of his career, he was much better than his numbers suggest. If he puts up a chase rate of 31.2% and a whiff rate of 27.5% (his numbers in 2025), that will lessen the pressure of getting another top-of-the-rotation pitcher.

By the end of the season, the offense was a mixed bag, especially once Roman Anthony was injured. With the addition to the rotation already secured, the team could go in various directions. They could look for a reunion with Alex Bregman after he opted out of his deal, or they could look elsewhere in the form of a Pete Alonso or Kazuma Okamoto. Thanks to only trading Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke in the Gray deal, the team could reach into their outfield depth and perhaps build a package around either Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu to bring in an impact bat such as Ketal Marte from the Diamondbacks.

The Gray trade has opened the door for the team to head down multiple avenues, and while it seems likely they’ll sign an impact bat over trading for one, the extra trade capital they still hold in Duran and Abreu could make a trade more affordable while leaving money to sign a big-name free agent later in the offseason.

If there’s one thing Craig Breslow has shown since taking over baseball operations, it’s that he’s not worried about reactions to moves. He’s made several big-swing trades, including one that sent the then-face-of-the-franchise to San Francisco in what may essentially end up being a salary dump. Gray was just the first piece of the offseason puzzle; expect many more to follow as the pieces come together.

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