Potential Orioles' offseason target vocalizes no-trade clause to stay off the market

As the Orioles wade through the early part of the offseason, all eyes are on Mike Elias and his plan to replace star pitcher Corbin Burnes. While the O's still have Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez in the mix, the top of the rotation will lack a true ace unless Elias finds a top-tier name to come to Baltimore this winter.

One such name in the 1-A tier that had been discussed previously this fall is Cardinals' right hander Sonny Gray. For a number of reasons, the Cards collapsed this year, and thanks to a perilous fight to retain their local TV broadcast revenue it appears that St. Louis will be looking to offload some of their payroll this winter.

With 2 years and $50 million remaining on Gray's contract, the righty seemed like a perfect candidate to be shuttled out in favor of a more cost effective option. However, Cards' beat writer Derrick Gould of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported this past week that Gray intends on staying in St. Louis. Because Gray has a no-trade clause in his deal, it's almost certain that he'll be staying put.

Sonny Gray looks to be off the table as Orioles seek top of the rotation starter

Gray's reluctance to move is a bit of disheartening news for Orioles fans. While there hadn't been any official reporting linking the O's to either Gray or the Cardinals, he's exactly the type of pitcher that the O's should be looking to add.

Elias seems to have an issue with signing players to long-term deals, and when it comes to pitchers that's honestly a fair take. They're more liable to break than hitters are so opting to acquire guys via trade can be a more effective strategy than signing top of the market free agents.

That strategy obviously worked well for the Orioles in 2024, as Burnes himself came aboard with just one year remaining on his contract. Burnes was exceptional in his walk year and the Orioles reaped the benefits on the field.

While Gray has been notably skeptical of pitching in large markets, Baltimore could theoretically have been a perfect situation for him. It's not a big market but the team is poised for an extended run of success with the young core in place. The O's are in a more comfortable competitive window than the Cardinals are, for sure.

Unfortunately, it looks like Elias and the Orioles will have to look elsewhere for a solution. Returning Burnes on a deal worth close to $200 million seems unrealistic, but the team has so far been linked to Max Fried so we'll have to see how willing Elias is to pay up this winter.