Sonny Gray to the Redsox

[Goldfan]

Source confirms: Sonny Gray traded from Cardinals to Red Sox. Contract being reworked to one-year plus mutual option. 2026 salary will be $31M, mutual option buyout of $10M. Gray essentially getting $41M for one year.

Still no word yet on the Cards return.

So Sox take his remaining contract?

[Adam2]

ken rosenthal reported red sox fans are not happy. He didn't say if it was the dollars or the prospects

[Strummer Jones]

I would guess not any of Boston's top 10 prospects. A top 20 prospect and a lottery ticket sounds about right. Anything more than that would be a big win for Bloom. Can't wait to find out.

We got their #5 prospect and another pitcher.

If that turns out to be legit that's a very good deal for St. Louis. Major props to Bloom. Seems like an overpay for Boston. Unless we sent them a ton of cash?

Lotta upset Boston fans on twitter right now.

[rbirules]

Source confirms: Sonny Gray traded from Cardinals to Red Sox. Contract being reworked to one-year plus mutual option. 2026 salary will be $31M, mutual option buyout of $10M. Gray essentially getting $41M for one year.

Still no word yet on the Cards return.

So Sox take his remaining contract?

Passan reported we sent cash, no word on how much.

[Goldfan]

So much for geographic location for Sonny I guess.

Yes. Between hometown discounts and geographical locations, hard to distinguish which of the two is a greater myth.

Money is the only thing that isn't a myth.

Money. Give it back. Keep your hands off my stack.

BD……got it going last night
Stirring the pot and a Gray trade all within about 12hrs….might take the rest of Thanksgiving off

[Banner29]

Brandon Clarke is the Red Sox #5 propect:

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 70 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 45 | Overall: 50

Clarke bounced back from Tommy John surgery as a junior to become Virginia's best prep pitching prospect in 2021. He developed thoracic issues while coming back from his elbow reconstruction, so he redshirted at Alabama in 2022 and worked just 3 2/3 innings the following year at the State JC of Florida (Manatee-Sarasota). He became the best junior college prospect in the 2024 Draft, leading Florida juco pitchers with 107 strikeouts in 74 1/3 frames last spring and impressing at the MLB Draft Combine before signing with the Red Sox for a below-slot $400,000 as a fifth-rounder.

Clarke throws harder than most lefty starters, sitting at 95-98 mph and reaching 100, though his fastball features more downhill plane than riding or running action. He has unveiled a devastating slider this season, with the pitch operating in the upper 80s and touching 91 mph with huge sweep as well as depth. He has relieved heavily on his heater and slide piece, rarely using an upper-70s curveball and an upper-80s changeup with some mild fade, both of which he struggles to land for strikes.

Still very much a work in progress, Clarke stands out more with his athleticism and quick arm than his polish. He gets down the mound well, creating a low release height with plenty of extension, but he lacks a smooth delivery and currently doesn't repeat it easily enough to have more than fringy control. He comes with a high ceiling and a good deal of reliever risk, making him an intriguing development project.

Very interesting pickup. Bloom adding another project starter with high potential. Dudes showing to have a lot of faith in his development plan with pitching.

[TraveledLessRoad]

He's their 3rd best pitching prospect. And the cheery on top is we got some dude named Dick Fitts. So that's good to know

[alw80]

Great trade.

[mattmitchl44]

FG has this to say:

Clarke - #86 prospect in MLB, FV 50

Clarke was committed to South Carolina, but his arm strength improved throughout 2024 and he properly blew up at that year's Draft Combine, where he touched 98 and sat 95-plus. He signed for $400,000 and has been one of the bigger "arrow up" prospects in baseball during the last nine months, as Clarke was parked at 96-97 and touching 100 in the early going of 2025, and had developed a nasty slider that was not quite there at the Combine.

Clarke is one of the many prospects in this system who generates something approaching elite extension down the mound; in Clarke's case, that's a shade over seven feet. His delivery is more cross-bodied now than it was when he was drafted. He delivers from a relatively true three-quarters slot, but with vertical hand position on release. The line on his heater is absolutely brutal around the hands of left-handed hitters. Clarke was a curveball/changeup guy at the Combine but now has a lethal upper-80s slider that will crest 90 mph with huge length, and it plays up because of the changes made to his delivery. I thought he had the makings of a good changeup when I saw him last year, but that pitch has barely been featured in 2025 because Clarke hasn't needed it.

He's perhaps a bit skinnier than most workhorse big league starters, but he fits the bill as an athlete. Because his track record of throwing hard predates just the little bit we've seen this season, I feel better about that part of Clarke's game being real and sustainable than I would were he just showing this velo in April and May alone. He's going to be an All-Star if he can sharpen his fastball command or develop a good third pitch, like a change or split. If he can't, he'll still likely be a high-leverage reliever.

Fitts - was #74 prospect in MLB before he graduated out, FV 50

Fitts spent most of his college career in the bullpen, but like a lot of Yankees draftees, he was moved into the starting rotation as a pro and ascended through the minors with little resistance. Fitts worked a whopping 152.2 innings in 2023, 50 innings more than he did in the prior season, and he not only maintained his velocity throughout the entire year, he experienced a little bit of a bump. He was part of the Alex Verdugo trade and sent to Worcester, where he performed roughly the same as he had the year prior, though the Sox handled his workload more conservatively and made changes to his repertoire. After a month-long cup of coffee at the end of the 2024 season, Fitts broke camp with the big league roster in 2025 and made three starts before he was shut down for nearly six weeks with a right pectoral strain. He returned in late May with the same velo and pitch mix as before, and was recalled shortly before list publication.

Plus fastball command and a hard, two-plane slider give Fitts two whiff-getting weapons. He leaned more on his slider in 2024 and also incorporated a changeup at a roughly 16% clip. He can alter the shape of his breaking ball in a couple of ways; he has a cutter in the 85-89 mph range, a curveball in the low-80s, and a slider with velos that blend in between the two of them. The changeup is good every once in a while, and Fitts' command helps make it so that even when it lacks movement, it tends to stay out of trouble. He can attack all quadrants of the zone and his velocity has been trending up across the last two years, going from averaging 93 to averaging 95 on either side of his shoulder issue. It has boosted Fitts' projection from that of a stable backend starter to a big league-ready no. 4 option.

[cardinalsfever44]

Brandon Clarke is the Red Sox #5 propect:

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 70 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 45 | Overall: 50

Clarke bounced back from Tommy John surgery as a junior to become Virginia's best prep pitching prospect in 2021. He developed thoracic issues while coming back from his elbow reconstruction, so he redshirted at Alabama in 2022 and worked just 3 2/3 innings the following year at the State JC of Florida (Manatee-Sarasota). He became the best junior college prospect in the 2024 Draft, leading Florida juco pitchers with 107 strikeouts in 74 1/3 frames last spring and impressing at the MLB Draft Combine before signing with the Red Sox for a below-slot $400,000 as a fifth-rounder.

Clarke throws harder than most lefty starters, sitting at 95-98 mph and reaching 100, though his fastball features more downhill plane than riding or running action. He has unveiled a devastating slider this season, with the pitch operating in the upper 80s and touching 91 mph with huge sweep as well as depth. He has relieved heavily on his heater and slide piece, rarely using an upper-70s curveball and an upper-80s changeup with some mild fade, both of which he struggles to land for strikes.

Still very much a work in progress, Clarke stands out more with his athleticism and quick arm than his polish. He gets down the mound well, creating a low release height with plenty of extension, but he lacks a smooth delivery and currently doesn't repeat it easily enough to have more than fringy control. He comes with a high ceiling and a good deal of reliever risk, making him an intriguing development project.

Very interesting pickup. Bloom adding another project starter with high potential. Dudes showing to have a lot of faith in his development plan with pitching.

I love it.

Arms, arms, arms, and more arms.

This is the way to get back to a playoff contender.

[Banner29]

ken rosenthal reported red sox fans are not happy. He didn't say if it was the dollars or the prospects

From what I have seen from Boston fans on x it’s just not a flashy enough pickup or a big enough needle mover. And this was even before any details came out about what they sent the other way.

Many of them wanted Skubal

[zoiks]

Clarke has had more major arm injuries and trouble staying healthy than even Tink Hence. He’s never reached 40 IP in a minor league season. He’s had huge K/9 numbers though, so he’s the typical boom or bust prospect teams get back in a salary dump trade.

[Cusecards]

All I can say is it’s about time that Bloom did SOMETHING!!!!!
His tenure to date has been terrible!

[imetsatchelpaige]

I would guess not any of Boston's top 10 prospects. A top 20 prospect and a lottery ticket sounds about right. Anything more than that would be a big win for Bloom. Can't wait to find out.

We got their #5 prospect and another pitcher.

Bingo

[sikeston bulldog2]

So much for geographic location for Sonny I guess.

Yes. Between hometown discounts and geographical locations, hard to distinguish which of the two is a greater myth.

Money is the only thing that isn't a myth.

Money. Give it back. Keep your hands off my stack.

BD……got it going last night
Stirring the pot and a Gray trade all within about 12hrs….might take the rest of Thanksgiving off

I see. You did well. Don’t stop. It’s like chasin butt; when your hot you can’t push it away; when your not, you can’t even buy any.


Stay hot.

[Goldfan]

All I can say is it’s about time that Bloom did SOMETHING!!!!!
His tenure to date has been terrible!

You’re Welcome for lighting the fire last night
More to come!!