During the offseason, St. Louis Cardinals team president John Mozeliak clearly made pitching a priority. After adding three veteran free agents, the Redbirds’ rotation looked to be solidified. But an injury to projected ace Sonny Gray during spring training left the team shuffling their starters before the season ever started.
Originally scheduled to be the club’s opening-day starter, Gray, 34, went down with a strained hamstring during his second exhibition appearance against the Washington Nationals. He had only thrown 20 pitches in the game before being removed.
At the time, Mozeliak classified it as a “mild strain”, and the club appeared optimistic that he might not miss any of the regular season. But the righty hasn’t progressed as quickly as was originally envisioned.
“We’ve had some encouraging news that it’s a mild strain. Not going to put any return-to-play [date] on it,” Mozeliak said at the time. “It’s been less than 24 hours. We’re going to see how he responds over the next few days. But from the MRI reading, we’re definitely encouraged. Fingers crossed, this isn’t something that’s going to linger too long.”
Now, just as it appears that he’s set to return, his Cardinals debut will have to wait a little longer. Although he was scheduled to start a Triple-A game for the Memphis Redbirds on Wednesday, Gray will now pitch in a simulated game with Double-A Springfield instead, John Denton of MLB.com is reporting. He’ll be limited to approximately 50 pitches during his session.
When will Sonny Gray Debut for the Cardinals?
Sonny Gray still has a few more steps to go before officially donning the Birds and the Bat.
He’ll make his next start on April 9 in Memphis when the Triple-A Redbirds host Nashville. He is scheduled to throw 70-75 pitches in that outing. That means he won’t debut during the Cards opening home stand but could be back in the big club’s starting rotation by late next week. According to the report via MLB.com, the first time Gray could start for the Cardinals would be an April 14 road game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol commented on Gray’s current timetable.
“[Moving Gray’s start from Indianapolis to Springfield] is just weather-related and it makes more sense,” Marmol said. “Then, you‘re looking at Memphis for right around 70 [pitches].”
Sonny Gray is a Valuable Piece of the Pitching Puzzle
Gray’s injury immediately threw a curveball at the Redbirds, who had high hopes of riding a revamped rotation in 2024. The club finished 71-91 and in last place a year ago. That was due largely to a pitching staff that posted a 4.79 team ERA.
That prompted the signing of Gray, who finished as the 2023 runner-up for the AL Cy Young Award. Along with the former Minnesota Twin, the team added fellow veteran righties Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson.
That trio was added to Cardinals holdovers Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz. The group collectively averages around 35 years of age, so durability was certainly a concern over the course of a 162-game season.
Couple that with Sonny Gray’s repeated history with hamstring problems. Despite being relatively healthy in 2023, he had multiple stints on the injured list in 2022 for similiar issues. So, even when he makes his return, the team will likely be incredibly be extremely cautious with his workload.
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