Sonny Gray to Make Highly-Anticipated Cardinals Debut Tuesday Versus Phillies
The wait is nearly over, as St. Louis Cardinals free-agent acquisition Sonny Gray will make his 2024 season debut on Tuesday at Busch Stadium against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Gray, who inked a three-year, $75-million contract last November, has been on the 15-day IL since the start of the season due to a hamstring strain suffered during spring training. He last pitched in a game on March 4th, his second exhibition start of camp.
The Cardinals right-handed starter completed a four-inning simulated game at Double-A Springfield on Wednesday, where he tossed 54 pitches and came away feeling healthy. One day later, the three-time All-Star stated he was ready to return to the majors.
And his wish has since been granted.
Gray was originally scheduled to make a rehab start with Triple-A Memphis last Wednesday, only for it to be moved to Springfield due to poor weather conditions. He was previously lined up to make another minor-league outing on Tuesday, but that appearance will now occur in the big leagues.
Last season’s AL Cy Young runner-up logged just 3.2 innings over two spring training starts before being shut down, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out three.
“He is as direct and honest of a human as you can ever encounter,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol told reporters, including MLB.com’s John Denton, prior to Sunday’s series finale versus the Miami Marlins. “If he says he is 100 percent himself and ready to go, from my seat I trust that.”
The plan is to have Gray on a 65-pitch limit in his debut against the Phillies, according to Marmol. From there, he’ll continue building up over his next few starts at the big-league level.
Upon his return, the 34-year-old hurler will attempt to steady the ship for a Cardinals rotation that’s struggled to a 5.13 ERA and 5.71 FIP – the second-highest in the majors, ahead of only the Toronto Blue Jays (6.14).
“Waiting has not been easy, especially when the team was on the road and came back, and [continuing to wait] hasn’t been easy,” Gray said. “It’s time for me to compete and put on the uniform — it’s just time.
“Physically, I feel great. And mentally I’m in a great spot, and I just feel that I’m more than capable to go out and compete in a big league game. We talked through it, and as long as it worked out where it didn’t put too much stress on the bullpen or collectively put the team in a bad spot with me only having 60-70 pitches — that was the main thing, making sure I wasn’t putting anybody else in a bad spot. But I feel normal and capable of getting outs.”
Zack Thompson was awarded the final rotation spot out of camp and was previously scheduled to take the ball at home for St. Louis on Tuesday. However, the 26-year-old – who carries a troubling 6.97 ERA in two starts this season – will now transition to the bullpen amidst Gray’s return.
Gray rejoins a starting staff that includes Miles Mikolas, Lance Lynn, Steven Matz and Kyle Gibson.
“Sonny Gray is very confident in how his body feels, and he says he’s 100 percent himself physically and mentally and he’s ready to contribute, and I trust that,” Marmol said. “This is a big piece for us and he’s beyond excited to compete and help us. I’m excited to see him out there in our [uniform] and seeing him do that.”
“His competitive demeanour and personality are contagious, and you can’t have enough of that. We have a good amount of [competitive fire] here already, and by adding him to it, it feels like it could get fun.”
The Smyrna, Tennessee, native arguably enjoyed the top statistical performance of his career with the Minnesota Twins last season, where he was worth a career-high 5.3 fWAR over 32 starts. He earned a 2.79 ERA and 2.83 FIP with 183 strikeouts, tied for his second-highest total.
Set to begin his inaugural campaign in St. Louis Gray is just two wins away from reaching 100 for his career, and he’s poised to become the 91st pitcher to reach that milestone since 2000.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.