By Rob Rains
Chaim Bloom’s first trade since he took over as the Cardinals’ president of baseball operations took him back to a familiar place.
Bloom’s first of what is expected to be a busy off-season of trades sent Sonny Gray to Bloom’s former team, the Red Sox, on Tuesday in exchange for two young pitchers.
“It was a little strange obviously but at the end of the day that doesn’t really impact things,” Bloom said during a zoom call with media members. “We’re trying to do the best we can for our club, no matter who it’s with. It shouldn’t matter where I worked last or anything other than what’s best for the St. Louis Cardinals. This is one where we each had some different objectives we were looking to accomplish and we were able to match up.”
The Cardinals also reportedly agreed to cover $20 million of Gray’s 2026 salary. Gray had been scheduled to earn $35 million in 2026 with a club option or a $5 million buyout for 2027. Media reports out of Boston said the deal was being reworked to give Gray a $31 million salary for next season with a mutual option for 2027 or a $10 million buyout.
Because of the no-trade clause in his contract Gray had to give his permission to complete the trade.
In exchange for the 36-year-old pitcher the Cardinals received 22-year-old lefthander Brandon Clarke, who was the fifth-round pick by the Red Sox in the 2024 draft out of a Florida junior college, and righthander Richard Fitts, 25, who made 10 starts for the Red Sox last season. Both pitchers were acquired by the Red Sox after Bloom left the organization.
The Cardinals also will receive either a player to be named later or cash to complete the trade.
Clarke was ranked as the fifth best prospect in the Red Sox farm system by MLB.com. He split the 2025 season between Boston’s high and low Class A affiliates.
The 6-foot-4 Clarke throws in the mid to upper 90s and has touched 100 miles per hour with his fastball. In his first pro season this year, he recorded 60 strikeouts in 38 innings but also issued 27 walks.
“This is a guy that our pitching team did a lot of homework on,” Bloom said. “His pure arm talent is up there with just about just about anybody that’s pitching in the minor leagues right now. It’s a long way from that to establishing himself in the big leagues but the upside is incredible there and we are hopeful we can help him reach it.”
Fitts is expected to come to spring training with a chance to compete for a spot in the Cardinals’ rotation.
Fitts was drafted by the Yankees in the sixth round in 2021 out of Auburn. He was traded to the Red Sox in December 2023, three months after Bloom was fired by the team.
In his 10 starts and one relief appearance for the Red Sox in 2025, Fitts was 2-4 with a 5.00 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 45 innings. He also started four games in the majors in 2024.
“To me it’s exactly consistent with everything I’ve been talking about for the last couple of months,” Bloom said about the trade’s return. “We have somewhere we need go. We’re not there now. The way to get there is through building on our core of talent, having promising young talent that can be with us for many years.
“The more fully we commit to what we need to do the better it will go and the quicker we will get there.”
Gray had told the Cardinals before the end of the season that he would be willing to consider waiving his no-trade clause for the right opportunity with a team which he thought had a chance to win in 2026.
Gray was 14-8 with 201 strikeouts this season for the Cardinals, his second year in St. Louis. His departure leaves the Cardinals without a true number one starter to head their rotation for next year. The rotation at the moment includes Matthew Liberatore and Michael McGreevy, with Andre Pallante, Kyle Leahy and now Fitts expected to compete for a job in the spring, along with minor-leaguers such as Quinn Mathews.
“We like the upside of the guys we have and my hope is that as the winter goes on we will be able to add more players that have a chance to pitch in the rotation for a while,” Bloom said. “Certainly without Sonny we lose that veteran anchor. He’s one of better pitchers in the game and he’s done a lot of things … we also will explore veterans that can come in here and help stabilize us. We want to create some competition and make sure we have options.”
Bloom also is reportedly pursuing trading third baseman Nolan Arenado and other players as he tries to rebuild the Cardinals, who have had a losing record in two of the last three seasons with no playoff appearances in those years.
“We’re fortunate we have a number of players who the league has a lot of interest in,” Bloom said. “That doesn’t mean we are going to move them necessarily because we like them too. We’ll see where it all goes. It’s too early at this point to predict anything.”
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Photo by The Associated Press
To listen to Chaim Bloom’s media zoom click the audio player below.