St. Louis

Cardinals

The deal also includes a $30 million team option ($5 million buyout) for the 2027 season. The 34-year-old right-hander was introduced at a press conference at Busch Stadium on Monday afternoon. Gray was as good as ever during the 2023 season where he rode a highly-effective reconfigured sweeper to a sparkling 2.79 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and a 183/55 K/BB ratio over 184 innings (32 starts) for the Twins — while finishing as the runner-up in Cy Young Award balloting in the American League. He’ll now front a revamped Cardinals’ starting rotation that also features fellow offseason additions Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson.

After signing Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn, and Sonny Gray at the start of free agency, the Cardinals have now reportedly told teams that Matz is available via trade. The Cardinals signed the left-hander to a four-year, $44 million contract before the 2022 season. If they were able to move him, that would free up a rotation spot for another starter, like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who the Cardinals are reportedly interested in.

Even though Gray will be pulling down twice as much per-season as he’s ever earned in his career, this doesn’t seem excessive at all, especially considering that the Cardinals likely had to outbid the Braves for his services. It’s a solid landing spot from a fantasy perspective as the 34-year-old righty figures to remain a top-40 fantasy starter heading into the 2024 campaign.

This is certainly what the Cardinals need after adding Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson to eat innings alongside Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz. Ideally, they’d have actually developed some pitching along the way and wouldn’t have needed to spend $75 million next year on what still seems like a pretty mediocre rotation. Gray, though, makes things look quite a bit better.

Rodríguez was jettisoned from St. Louis’ 40-man roster earlier this month after missing the entire 2023 campaign due to right shoulder surgery. The 33-year-old righty will compete in spring training for a spot in the Cardinals’ season-opening bullpen.

The deal is now official following an announcement from Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak. The 36-year-old veteran right-hander, who posted a serviceable 4.73 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 157/55 K/BB ratio across 192 innings (33 starts) this past season for the Orioles, represents a back-end starting rotation stabilizer heading into the 2024 campaign. He’s unlikely to make an impact for fantasy managers outside of extremely deep mixed leagues and NL-only formats.

The deal is now official after Lynn passed his physical. The soon-to-be 37-year-old right-hander, who can earn up to $13 million through incentives and a $1 million buyout for 2025, rejoins the organization that he spent the first six seasons of his career with after splitting the 2023 campaign between the White Sox and Dodgers. Busch Stadium won’t make a tremendous difference from a park factors standpoint, but it should help after Lynn served up a league-high 44 round-trippers last year across 32 starts. He’s unlikely to make an impact for fantasy managers outside of deeper NL-only formats, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him emerge as a decent streaming option in favorable matchups.

Nightengale adds that the agreement also includes a team option for 2025. ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reports that the deal is for $12 million. Gibson joins fellow veteran righty Lance Lynn as latest offseason pitching acquisition for the Cardinals, who seems to be rushing to shore up the back-end of their starting rotation at the outset of free agency. The 36-year-old journeyman right-hander has been a durable innings-eater the past couple seasons, but isn’t likely to make an impact for fantasy managers outside of deeper mixed leagues and NL-only formats. He compiled a pedestrian 4.73 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 157/55 K/BB ratio across 192 innings (33 starts) this past season for the Orioles. He’s more of a depth component at this stage of his career, but he remains a viable fifth starter on a contending roster.

Descalso is a ten-year MLB veteran who last played in 2019 with the Chicago Cubs. Over his career, Descalso registered a .235 batting average while averaging seven home runs, 44 RBI, and 49 runs scored per 162 games. He played his first five major league seasons with the Cardinals and will now be reunited with the team that drafted him in the third round of the 2007 draft. Joe McEwing will move to a special assistant role under president of baseball operations John Mozeliak to make room for Descalso.

Lynn is back where it all started after the Cardinals drafted him with the 39th overall pick in the 2008 MLB Draft. Lynn pitched six seasons with St. Louis, making one All-Star game and compiling a 72-47 record and 3.38 ERA across 977 2/3 innings. Now 36-years-old, Lynn struggled in 2023 with a 5.73 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, and 2.16 HR/9 in 183 2/3 innings split between the White Sox and Dodgers. While he’s likely no longer an ace, he is currently slotted at the top of the St. Louis rotation alongside Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz, so the Cardinals certainly are hoping they can recapture some of his old magic. The reported agreement is pending a physical.