Cardinals' Sonny Gray reveals he nearly returned to former team in offseason

The 34-year-old was a first-round draft pick of the Oakland Athletics in 2011, made his big-league debut with the club in 2013 and spent the first four-plus years of his career in the Bay Area. After a one-and-a-half season stay with the New York Yankees, Gray was traded to Cincinnati in January 2019.

During his debut campaign with the Reds, the Vanderbilt product made his second All-Star team, going 11-8 with a 2.87 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and a career-high 205 strikeouts in 175.3 innings pitched.

After the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Gray regressed in 2021 and was traded to the Minnesota Twins in March 2022. Due to a pectoral strain, he was limited to 24 starts that year but bounced back big time last season.

Gray was named to his third All-Star Game in 2023 and finished in second place for the AL Cy Young Award. He posted an elite 2.79 ERA and 1.14 WHIP with 183 strikeouts over 184 innings pitched.

Gray suffered a hamstring injury this week during a spring training outing, and his status at the beginning of the regular season is uncertain.

Gray is projected to be the Cardinals' No. 1 starter. A fellow veteran newcomer like Kyle Gibson or Lance Lynn may be asked to step up on Opening Day against the loaded Los Angeles Dodgers if he's unavailable.