As Cards are eliminated from playoff race, Gray contemplates future in St. Louis

SAN FRANCISCO -- Sonny Gray, the fixture of a pitching staff that allowed the rebuilding Cardinals to stay in the playoff chase much longer than expected before elimination came for them on Wednesday, admitted that his future in St. Louis is uncertain because of his desire to finish his career on a championship-contending team.

On a night when Gray registered seven strikeouts to get him to 201 for the season -- only to see the Cardinals ultimately fall 4-3 to the Giants -- Gray admitted that he has already started contemplating whether he will ask for a trade this offseason to allow him to join a championship contender in the latter stages of his career. Gray, 35, admitted that he’s already had extensive talks with incoming president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom about the direction the Cardinals are heading in 2026.

“I don’t know what that [future in St. Louis] looks like for me yet,” said Gray, who limited the Giants to seven hits and two earned runs over six innings. “I have enjoyed my time [with the Cardinals], and I’ve loved the people, but I came here to win. I signed here two years ago with the expectation of winning and trying to win, and that hasn’t played out that way. But I want to win, and I expect to win. I came here with the expectation to win, so I don’t know.”

Gray, who tied his career high with 14 wins in 2025, signed a three-year, $75 million free-agent contract with the Cardinals prior to the 2024 season. That contract includes a no-trade clause that will allow Gray to have control over which team he pitches for in 2026, but it would have to be a team willing to take on his $35 million salary. Gray seems to have all but closed the book on returning to a Cardinals club that expects to shift more of its focus toward developing its young core.

“I’ve talked to them a bunch and I know the deal. I know the deal and I’ve had ample conversations with Chaim and all those guys,” Gray said. “I know the direction. I am not in the right state of mind to answer that question right now.

"I think I do [have to consider a trade request], to be frank and be honest. Having said that, whether I do decide I want to go somewhere -- whether that actually happens -- I still don't have complete control of that. Obviously, I have control over where I can't go or don't go, but I think I do [have to consider a trade]. I'm going to be 36 and it's going to be my 14th season and the last year of my contract. I don't know what the future holds for me."

Asked if he thinks about how much longer he wants to pitch in the big leagues, Gray snapped, “Every day!” While he has been inspired by a Cardinals club that has exceeded the expectations of most this season, Gray said he wants to be a part of a team that expects to win every night and is successful at a championship level.

“I think as long as we expect to win, we’re going to continue to exceed expectations,” he said. “Throughout this process that this organization is going through, the more you can still expect to win and win like we’ve done, the better off it’s going to be and the faster the timeline will go without adding pieces.”

Making his 32nd start on Wednesday, Gray gave the Cardinals a chance to win and stay alive in the playoff chase an additional day. He pitched out of a jam and got out of a lengthy second inning when he got Heliot Ramos to ground out. In the third, he surrendered a towering homer to Rafael Devers when he challenged him with a 3-0 fastball – the career-most 25th homer he’s allowed. In the fourth, he was undone by an unearned run that was a product of a misplay by Jordan Walker.

A Cards club already expected to deal Nolan Arenado this offseason might also have to do the same with its staff ace.

“You look at our rotation and they posted every outing and [Gray] was a big part of that,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “I loved watching him throughout the year and how he thinks about the game and makes adjustments from outing to outing and he’s very honest with us about what his outing looked like. That’s part of being a competitor and he’s done a nice job.”