The St. Louis Cardinals picked up a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night, 3-2, after starting pitcher Sonny Gray threw a gem. Gray gave up just one hit and earned run in seven innings of work. He struck out eight Dodgers batters as well, a rarity for one of the best lineups in baseball. For John Mozeliak and the St. Louis front office, Gray's outing was a mere hint of what could've been just days prior.
The 2025 MLB trade deadline featured very few deals involving controllable starting pitching. Had Gray been available at the end of July, the Cardinals return would've been immense and helped them rebuild their farm system on the fly. In John Mozeliak's final deadline as president of baseball operations, it would've been a symbolic handoff between he and Chaim Bloom. However, there was one holdup – Gray didn't want to go anywhere.
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Why Sonny Gray didn't want a trade away from the Cardinals
Sonny Gray enjoys being a St. Louis Cardinal. That's an enviable trait for any player the Cardinals sign, especially a veteran. Most importantly for Gray, he signed with the Cards in the first place to be closer to his family. They are a short flight away, and any deal out west or elsewhere would upset the balance he has in his life at the moment. It's important to remember that professional athletes have private lives, too.
It's far more likely the Cardinals trade Gray this winter or at next season's MLB trade deadline if they start to spiral. For now, the Cards remain in the NL Wild Card race, which makes sending all their veterans away for scraps an unpopular move. That could all change once Bloom takes charge, as FanSided's Chris Kline noted.
"This has been Gray's worst season in a hot minute. The 2023 AL Cy Young runner-up is still far and away the best arm in St. Louis' stable, but he's beginning to miss fewer bats and allow more hard contact. This stuff happens with age," Kline wrote. "Maybe he can bounce back next season, especially if he's in a better spot, but the Cards would be wise to get off of Gray with a full year left on his deal, rather than letting him tank his value any further before the 2026 trade deadline.
Sonny Gray made an enemy in John Mozeliak
While Gray has every right to stay with the Cardinals as long as he's under contract, for Mozeliak, trading away the best pitcher available at the deadline would've meant a lot for his legacy. Katie Woo of The Athletic reported that the Cardinals were likely to entertain offers for Gray prior to the deadline. However, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch made it clear that Gray was never going to waive his no-trade clause.
Mozeliak is only human. It would make a lot of sense to trade Gray, but he only has himself to blame for giving the veteran starting pitcher a no-trade clause in the first place.