The St. Louis Cardinals reached an agreement with free agent pitcher Sonny Gray:

Gray is coming off a strong 2023 season with the Minnesota Twins. He finished second in AL Cy Young Award voting behind Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole and earned his third career All Star Game appearance.

The veteran right-hander made 32 starts, going 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA, striking out 183 batters over 184 innings.

Over 11 seasons with the A’s, Yankees, Reds and Twins, Gray is 98-85 with a 3.47 ERA.

ESPN.com

The Cardinals are shaping up to field a rather old rotation. Steven Matz is the youngest, and he was born in 1991. The Cardinals used to be able to pull good, young pitchers out of their farm system, now they are signing pitchers who are more likely to decline.

That said, Gray is extremely good at preventing home runs and hits. In an age of power, that’s a great strength to bring to the mound.