JUPITER, Fla. -- Sonny Gray ended his historic first season with the Cardinals with a somewhat rocky second half and a stint on the injured list with a forearm injury, and his three uneven starts in Spring Training have been less than ideal.
Still, manager Oliver Marmol said it was an easy decision when picking an Opening Day starter to take on the Twins on March 27 at Busch Stadium.
“He’s our dude,” Marmol said of Gray, with a smile.
The Opening Day nod was awarded to Gray prior to his Sunday start against the Marlins, an 11-5 loss, in which he finished just one of the five innings he pitched (Spring Training rules allow pitchers to re-enter games). Gray needed 80 pitches to record nine outs, between which he allowed eight runs on six hits, including a homer, and five walks. It was Gray’s third rocky start of Spring Training. Gray has allowed 15 runs on 16 hits (six homers) and six walks over 9 2/3 innings, with opponents hitting .372 against him this spring.
“This is my 15th Spring Training, so, yes, I’ve done it all,” Gray. “I’ve had incredible Spring Trainings where I didn’t give up a run for however many games and then had horrible seasons. I’ve had horrible Spring Trainings and had great seasons. … I’ve literally experienced it all and ultimately it does not matter -- it doesn’t matter. Do what you can do, get your stuff done and get out of here.”
Gray's Opening Day start -- the fourth of his career after taking the mound for the Athletics (2014-15) and Reds (2020) -- comes a year later than expected for Gray, who signed a three-year, $75 million free-agent deal with the Cards before the 2024 season. Gray was slated to be the Cardinals’ Opening Day starter at Dodger Stadium last year, but he was scratched after suffering a hamstring strain in a Spring Training game that delayed his season debut.
Despite opening and closing last year on the injured list, Gray went 13-9 with a 3.84 ERA over 28 starts. Gray set Cardinals franchise records for highest single-season strikeouts per nine innings (10.98) and highest single-season strikeout percentage (30.3%). His 203 strikeouts made him the ninth pitcher in Cards history -- and the first since Jack Flaherty in 2019 -- to record at least 200 strikeouts in a season.
“You look at his [pitching metrics] and they were the best he’s probably had in eight years,” Marmol said. “Obviously, there’s some solving for the home runs, but [look at] some of the underlying stuff and the metrics that matter and he had a very good year.
“He just needs to be Sonny, which means he’s never going to be satisfied and he’s going to look at every single piece of information, look at his routine, how he approaches his days between [starts] and how he communicates to make sure he doesn’t miss anything.”
Gray was pulled in the second inning on Sunday after issuing two walks. He was lifted from the third inning after giving up another two walks and a two-run homer to Jonah Bride. The fourth inning was also choppy, after Gray surrendered hits to three of the first four batters he faced. Finally, he was lifted for good midway through the fifth inning when he hit his target of 80 pitches.
“The goal was to get five [innings] and it was a roundabout way of getting there, but physically I feel great,” Gray said. “It was weird, but whatever -- and who cares? Spring Training is a weird place.
“I’m ready to get to St. Louis. I want to get my work done, come out healthy and get to St. Louis.”
Gray seemed to show signs of wear and tear over the second half of the season in 2024. After compiling a 2.79 ERA over the first half of the season, Gray’s ERA soared to 5.20 after the All-Star break. After surrendering just eight home runs in his 2023 season with the Twins, Gray allowed 21 home runs last year -- 13 of which came after the All-Star break. Then, he opened Spring Training by allowing five homers in his first two starts.
While Gray’s sweeper was one of the game’s most dominant pitches -- he had an MLB-best 57.1 percent strikeout rate on at-bats that ended with the pitch, and hitters batted just .142 against it -- his four-seam fastball didn’t fare as well. Opponents hit Gray's fastball for a .331 average, including six home runs, prompting Gray to make some changes to his pitch sequencing this offseason.
Regardless of how 2024 ended or how Spring Training has gone, Gray is excited to kick off the Cardinals' season.
“It’s exciting for every player who has ever played, it’s exciting for every fan and it is the start of baseball season,” said Gray. “So there’s obviously more excitement and energy around that day, but that’s a good thing. If you don’t have that, then what are we doing? As a player and someone pitching on that day, you use that the way you can for your benefit.”