STLtoday.com

scoutyjones2 wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:09 am

zoiks wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 10:52 am 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.

He's no even reached 40!innings across 4 years.

Turns 23.

This is a lottery pick.

true -- but a $20 scratch off instead of a $1 one?

VegasVinny wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:24 am

smilinjoefission wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:23 am

VegasVinny wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:20 am I’m excited to see Dick Fitts in Busch.

NO ONE and I mean NO ONE likes Dick Fitts in Busch...I want DickieThon...hours and hours of DickieThon in Busch.

If there isn’t a Dick Fitts chant every time he enters the game, we’ve failed as a society.

You just know your parents were PI**ED to find out about being pregnant when they both (with the last name Fitts) looked at eachother and said “Yeah, Richard works for this one”

craviduce wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:24 am

rockondlouie wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:23 am

craviduce wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:21 am it's a good trade....face value, early indications. I'm elated. Of course you grade much later (several seasons), but again, early indications, he did well here.

Ditto

We don't know the final cash BDWJr sent but could be as much as $15M(?) in payroll savings that he could let Bloom re-invest!

around $20M if I'm reading it correctly. Boston on the hook for 15M this year. I wonder if they had to pick up the Option for the Trade to go through?

From what I know the option transfers to the acquiring team.

So Gray's $35/2025 salary now cost the Cardinals only $20M equaling a $15M payroll savings if they didn't have to pay for the buyout option.

I'm just pumped that Bloom jumped the market, moved Gray quickly and now can concentrate on NADO, Donovan, ect...

rockondlouie wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:32 am

craviduce wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:24 am

rockondlouie wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:23 am

craviduce wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:21 am it's a good trade....face value, early indications. I'm elated. Of course you grade much later (several seasons), but again, early indications, he did well here.

Ditto

We don't know the final cash BDWJr sent but could be as much as $15M(?) in payroll savings that he could let Bloom re-invest!

around $20M if I'm reading it correctly. Boston on the hook for 15M this year. I wonder if they had to pick up the Option for the Trade to go through?

From what I know the option transfers to the acquiring team.

So Gray's $35/2025 salary now cost the Cardinals only $20M equaling a $15M payroll savings if they didn't have to pay for the buyout option.

I'm just pumped that Bloom jumped the market, moved Gray quickly and now can concentrate on NADO, Donovan, ect...

agree 100%

who would have thought something like this would happen BEFORE the winter meetings?

VegasVinny wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:20 am I’m excited to see Dick Fitts in Busch.

And they just signed blewett

So…

Never mind……too easy

on a positive note ... I won't have to spend any money going to Busch Stadium until 2027 ... yippee!

Boston is expected to rework Gray's contract to a one-year deal with a mutual option, worth $31 million in 2026 and a mutual option buyout of $10 million, a source told MLB.com's Ian Browne.

So the Red Sox are responsible for the option!



The headliner of the deal for the Cardinals will be the 22-year-old Clarke, who was a fifth-round Draft pick by the Red Sox in 2024. Clarke's fastball sits 95-98 mph and can touch 100 mph, but his best pitch might be his wipeout slider that he throws in the high 80s to low 90s with big sweeping movement.

In his first professional season in 2025, the 6-foot-4 lefty made 14 starts at Single-A and High-A and posted a 4.03 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 38 inning.







Fitts, the other pitcher the Cardinals are getting, made his MLB debut in 2024 and has pitched 15 games (14 starts) in the big leagues over the past two seasons. The 25-year-old righty has a 3.97 ERA in those outings with 49 strikeouts in 65 2/3 innings.

Fitts' best pitches in 2025 were his four-seam fastball, which averaged just under 96 mph with a 2,450 rpm spin rate, and his sweeper, which averaged 85 mph and generated a 40% swing-and-miss rate.
-mlb.com

dugoutrex wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:36 am on a positive note ... I won't have to spend any money going to Busch Stadium until 2027 ... yippee!

Or buying playoff paraphanalia.

craviduce wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:21 am it's a good trade....face value, early indications. I'm elated. Of course you grade much later (several seasons), but again, early indications, we did well here.

Watching vid on Clarke love seeing his 'crossfire ' motion and how he can throw it outside low and left hitter was swinging at air .

This team could have quite the lefty pitchers in a couple years ... Libby, Doyle, and Clarke With Doyle and Clark very high velocity types

Rosie's Rule wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:27 am Word of caution on Fitts - spent the last month of the season on the IL with “arm neuritis” bicep issues.

Aint that a zit?

craviduce wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:24 am

rockondlouie wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:23 am

craviduce wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:21 am it's a good trade....face value, early indications. I'm elated. Of course you grade much later (several seasons), but again, early indications, he did well here.

Ditto

We don't know the final cash BDWJr sent but could be as much as $15M(?) in payroll savings that he could let Bloom re-invest!

around $20M if I'm reading it correctly. Boston on the hook for 15M this year. I wonder if they had to pick up the Option for the Trade to go through?

Rosenthal reporting they agreed to rework Gray's contract to a 1 year, $31mm salary plus a mutual option or a $10mm buyout.

rockondlouie wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:32 am

craviduce wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:24 am

rockondlouie wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:23 am

craviduce wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:21 am it's a good trade....face value, early indications. I'm elated. Of course you grade much later (several seasons), but again, early indications, he did well here.

Ditto

We don't know the final cash BDWJr sent but could be as much as $15M(?) in payroll savings that he could let Bloom re-invest!

around $20M if I'm reading it correctly. Boston on the hook for 15M this year. I wonder if they had to pick up the Option for the Trade to go through?

From what I know the option transfers to the acquiring team.

So Gray's $35/2025 salary now cost the Cardinals only $20M equaling a $15M payroll savings if they didn't have to pay for the buyout option.

I'm just pumped that Bloom jumped the market, moved Gray quickly and now can concentrate on NADO, Donovan, ect...

And I was told NOTHING could be done before the Winter Meetings…..
Bloom is making his market not waiting around for MO’s “Developing Market”

ramfandan wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:38 am

craviduce wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:21 am it's a good trade....face value, early indications. I'm elated. Of course you grade much later (several seasons), but again, early indications, we did well here.

Watching vid on Clarke love seeing his 'crossfire ' motion and how he can throw it outside low and left hitter was swinging at air .

This team could have quite the lefty pitchers in a couple years ... Libby, Doyle, and Clarke With Doyle and Clark very high velocity types

LHP is our strength and it just got deeper....that's where we should trade from....not catcher (not yet, at least)

82birds wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:35 am

rockondlouie wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:32 am

craviduce wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:24 am

rockondlouie wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:23 am

craviduce wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:21 am it's a good trade....face value, early indications. I'm elated. Of course you grade much later (several seasons), but again, early indications, he did well here.

Ditto

We don't know the final cash BDWJr sent but could be as much as $15M(?) in payroll savings that he could let Bloom re-invest!

around $20M if I'm reading it correctly. Boston on the hook for 15M this year. I wonder if they had to pick up the Option for the Trade to go through?

From what I know the option transfers to the acquiring team.

So Gray's $35/2025 salary now cost the Cardinals only $20M equaling a $15M payroll savings if they didn't have to pay for the buyout option.

I'm just pumped that Bloom jumped the market, moved Gray quickly and now can concentrate on NADO, Donovan, ect...

agree 100%

who would have thought something like this would happen BEFORE the winter meetings?

Right off the bat we can see C. Bloom isn't the type of POBO to sit around and let the market come to him!

Must've laid the ground work out last week at the GM meetings and not afraid to pull the trigger when he got what he thinks is a fair deal.

And Gray has to be excited to, going to a team that has a shot at the playoffs.

Win-Win deal already as they cleared payroll, made Gray happy (players around the league like to see teams do this, could be good for future FA signings) and landed two young arms.

Goldfan wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:40 am

rockondlouie wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:32 am

craviduce wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:24 am

rockondlouie wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:23 am

craviduce wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:21 am it's a good trade....face value, early indications. I'm elated. Of course you grade much later (several seasons), but again, early indications, he did well here.

Ditto

We don't know the final cash BDWJr sent but could be as much as $15M(?) in payroll savings that he could let Bloom re-invest!

around $20M if I'm reading it correctly. Boston on the hook for 15M this year. I wonder if they had to pick up the Option for the Trade to go through?

From what I know the option transfers to the acquiring team.

So Gray's $35/2025 salary now cost the Cardinals only $20M equaling a $15M payroll savings if they didn't have to pay for the buyout option.

I'm just pumped that Bloom jumped the market, moved Gray quickly and now can concentrate on NADO, Donovan, ect...

And I was told NOTHING could be done before the Winter Meetings…..
Bloom is making his market not waiting around for MO’s “Developing Market”

So you are a fan today?

NYCardsFan wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:39 am

craviduce wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:24 am

rockondlouie wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:23 am

craviduce wrote: ↑25 Nov 2025 11:21 am it's a good trade....face value, early indications. I'm elated. Of course you grade much later (several seasons), but again, early indications, he did well here.

Ditto

We don't know the final cash BDWJr sent but could be as much as $15M(?) in payroll savings that he could let Bloom re-invest!

around $20M if I'm reading it correctly. Boston on the hook for 15M this year. I wonder if they had to pick up the Option for the Trade to go through?

Rosenthal reporting they agreed to rework Gray's contract to a 1 year, $31mm salary plus a mutual option or a $10mm buyout.

oh...okay. What's extra? The $1million? I'm not up on this, but is that the standard NTC Waive fee? did the Buyout increase?

I do wish Gray the best, I liked his stay here...unfortunately we didn't have much of a supporting cast for him