Phillies Target Has Growing List of Suitors

Just because former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Kyle Gibson is headed for St. Louis doesn't mean that thins out the herd in terms of the pursuit of one of Philly's pitching targets.

The Phillies have previously been linked to pitcher Sonny Gray, who helped the Twins win the American League Central and win a playoff series for the first time since 2002.

But the competition to sign Gray is getting stiffer.

The Cardinals signed Gibson to a one-year deal on Tuesday, and per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals may not be done signing pitching.

Gray is a veteran arm the Cardinals are considering, and they’re also considering tossing their hat in the ring for Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a pitcher the Phillies have also been linked to.

The Cardinals would join the Baltimore Orioles, the Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox as teams with reported interest in Gray.

Gray turned down the Twins’ $20.325 million qualifying offer earlier this month, which means the Twins will get draft pick compensation from the team that signs Gray.

The Phillies have a pretty stacked rotation already with the return of Aaron Nola on a long-term free agent contract. With his return, the Phillies' rotation for 2023 — a season in which they reached the NL Championship Series  is intact. 

Gray would give the Phillies more veteran backup.

The 33-year-old has played 11 Major League seasons, as he broke in with Oakland in 2013 and has also played with the New York Yankees, the Cincinnati Reds and the Twins.

He’s made three All-Star teams and has finished in the Top 10 in Cy Young voting twice.

He has spent the past two seasons with Minnesota, where he went a combined 16-13 with a 2.90 ERA. In 2023, in helping the Twins win the AL Central, he went 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA in 32 starts. He allowed an MLB-low 0.4 home runs per nine innings.

Gray has a career record of 98-85 with a 3.47 ERA, including 1,521 strikeouts and 544 walks in 1,571 innings pitched.