The Red Sox made a pre-Thanksgiving splash on Tuesday when they dealt two prospects to the Cardinals for veteran former All-Star Sonny Gray. St. Louis also threw in $20 million to defray a large chunk of Gray’s salary.

How much does the move elevate the Red Sox, who are trying to build on last year’s playoff appearance?

Experts weighed in. Below are excerpts of the analysis from trade-grade articles.

ESPN

ESPN liked the deal overall pointing to Gray’s strikeout-to-walk numbers, but warned that Gray’s fastball gets hit hard:

“Gray did throw his three fastball variants 53% of the time, so maybe the Red Sox suggest a different pitch mix -- the four-seamer, while it gives him the one pitch Gray throws up in the zone, has been hammered two years in a row now, but was still the pitch he threw most often in 2025.

Overall, Gray plugs a big hole without the Red Sox paying out a long-term contract -- and the Red Sox didn’t give up anybody who projected to be an impact player for them in 2026 (such as starters Payton Tolle and Connelly Early, who debuted this past season and could be in the 2026 rotation).

They thought the Red Sox didn’t overpay:

“ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel rated (Clarke) the No. 9 prospect in the Boston system in Augustand while there’s obvious upside if everything comes together, he’s not close to the majors and the profile screams reliever risk."

Grade: Red Sox B+

USA Today

USA Today liked it for both sides. The Red Sox get a veteran who can help, while the Cardinals get prospects for their rebuild:

This one is fairly straightforward: Gray is aging, but he’s still a solid veteran starter who has won 27 games over the past two seasons and who can still has the potential to be a sub-4.00 ERA pitcher. He’ll eat up some innings, too. They didn’t break the bank and got an upgrade in the rotation. Seems solid, if unspectacular.Plus, the Cardinals are paying some money for Gray, which helps!

Grade: Red Sox B

The Athletic

The Athletic had two of its writers break down the deal. They both liked the move for both sides.

Chad Jennings

“These two teams are in remarkably different places, trying to do remarkably different things. That’s why the deal works so well for each side.The Red Sox are ready to win, and among their most glaring short-term needs — a problem that already hurt them in the playoffs this season — was a No. 2 starter behind Garrett Crochet. Gray fills that void, offering experience and strikeouts without issuing a ton of walks. He’s a rental, and not especially cheap even with the Cardinals covering roughly half of his salary, but he fits the moment, and positions the Red Sox as a team committed to winning. Unlike in the previous season, they had some young pitching depth that they could afford to trade."

Grade: Red Sox A-

Zack Meisel

“There’s a solid top tier of free-agent starting pitchers in Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez, Tatsuya Imai and Michael King, but if you’re itching to address your rotation before diving into the painstaking process of pursuing one of those highly coveted arms, it’s not a bad idea to trade for a guy who’s been a solid — underrated? — starter for a long time. And since the Cardinals are chipping in $20 million to cover Gray’s deal, it shouldn’t prevent the Red Sox from dabbling in the free-agent waters in some capacity.

The Red Sox didn’t cough up anyone they can’t live without — at least, not yet. They have the back-end depth to withstand Fitts’ departure. And Clarke, an intriguing project with a great arm, has 38 innings in A-ball on his resume."

Grade: Red Sox B+

CBS

CBS liked the trade too, as much for who the Red Sox got as for how they maintained their financial flexibility.

“Here, the Red Sox not only leveraged their pitching depth to land another quality starter, they did it while creatively maintaining financial flexibility that should come in handy throughout the winter.

Gray, 36, might be the most underrated pitcher of his generation. Across parts of 13 seasons, he’s amassed a 117 ERA+, a 3.10 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and more than 33 Wins Above Replacement. He’s logged at least 150 innings in each of the past three seasons, and last year’s inflated ERA shouldn’t cause too much concern. If you compare his metrics on a year-to-year basis, he saw improvements in 2025 in both his average exit velocity and his walk rate (and therefore his strikeout-to-walk ratio)."

Grade: Red Sox A

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