The Opener: Cardinals, Red Sox, Pre-Thanksgiving Deals

Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:

1. Cardinals’ rebuild in full swing:

The first shot of St. Louis’s rebuild was fired yesterday when the club traded right-hander Sonny Gray (and $20MM cash) to the Red Sox for right-hander Richard Fitts, left-hander Brandon Clarke, and a player to be named later or cash. The return restocks the club’s pitching coffers, which the Cardinals haven’t been shy about making a goal of this winter. There’s plenty of additional work for the club to do even with half of Gray’s money off the books, however. The team still hopes to trade Nolan Arenado, and a host of young left-handed bats (led by Brendan Donovan) are known to be available as well. Less clear is the status of Willson Contreras, who would certainly be a logical trade candidate but has indicated a preference to stay in St. Louis.

2. What’s next for the Red Sox?

Entering the offseason, the Red Sox made it clear that a top priority for the club was to add a front-of-the-rotation arm to pair with Garrett Crochet and slot in ahead of Brayan Bello. They arguably did that with the Gray trade, as the veteran was a second-place Cy Young finisher as recently as 2023 in Minnesota. However, Gray hasn’t pitched at that same level in 2024-25, so it’s debatable whether he truly accomplishes this goal. Regardless, it seems that Boston will be turning its attention to bolstering the offense for the time being. That could come in a lot of different forms. Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso, and even Kyle Schwarber have been frequently linked to the Red Sox this offseason, and there’s been some reporting that they’re looking at J.T. Realmuto as well. Outside of free agency, the club has yet to trade from its glut of left-handed outfield talent, and Boston also has plenty of MLB-ready pitching to dangle (and even fewer innings for those young arms after adding Gray).

3. Will more pre-Thanksgiving deals shake loose?

While deals on Thanksgiving itself are somewhat rare, the days leading up to the holiday often create a bit of a rush of activity as players and teams look to push some some deals across the finish line prior to holiday festivities. We’ve already seen some major trades between yesterday’s Gray deal and the weekend’s swap of Brandon Nimmo and Marcus Semien. Phil Maton and Jake Fraley have both wrapped up free-agent deals within the past couple days, with the former headed to the Cubs and the latter signing back with Tampa Bay just days after being non-tendered.

Last year, we saw both Blake Snell and Yusei Kikuchi sign within 48 hours of Thanksgiving (as you can see using MLBTR’s Contract Tracker). The year prior, each of Aaron Nola, Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson and Reynaldo Lopez closed free agent deals in in the days leading up to the holiday. In 2022, the Hunter Renfroe trade between the Angels and Brewers came together the day prior to Thanksgiving. Another deal or two on either the trade or free agent market could come to fruition before tomorrow.