ST. LOUIS – Coming off an up-and-down first season with the St. Louis Cardinals, Sonny Gray stood firm on remaining part of the organization, even as the Cardinals navigate the early stages of a cost-cutting, roster-shaking reset.
“As of right now, this is still where I want to be,” said Gray during Saturday’s Winter Warm-Up media session.
Just one day into their ongoing offseason, after back-to-back years without postseason baseball, the Cardinals publicly outlined their vision for a reset: A youth-driven approach designed to reduce payroll while prioritizing player development and providing younger big-league players with larger opportunities.
Initial comments suggested the Cardinals might consider trading several veterans under contract, including Gray, Ryan Helsley, Willson Contreras, and Nolan Arenado. While the Cardinals have explored trades for Arenado this winter, there has been little to no traction toward deals for the other three.
Gray discussed the team’s direction with Cardinals lead executive John Mozeliak earlier this offseason. While aware of ongoing challenges, he ultimately decided it was in his best interest to stay put.
“I meant it when I said it last year, or a year and a half ago at this point, about us wanting to be here,” said Gray on him and his family. “That was kind of a part of it that stayed. Like ‘Hey, we do still want to be here.’ There’s still a lot of really talented players on the team.”
Gray challenges the notion that a reset means the team is destined for losing.
“Winning is still the reason I play this game,” said Gray. “I’m not 100% sold that we can’t win here. I know it may look different and sound different, and it may not be like what it looked like in the past as far as signing a bunch of veteran guys and kind of doing it that way. But I’ve also been on teams that have won that have done it a different way.”
Gray is eager to support a younger cast of teammates stepping into larger roles and new opportunities.
“If you look at the talent, especially on the position player side, the young talent, in my opinion, those guys have to take it over,” said Gray. “It turns into it’s their clubhouse now. It’s their team. We as older guys – me, myself, and whoever is here – I think it’s our job to lead them and to mentor them, but [also] to let them spread their wings and let them fly, and kind of let them take it over.”
Sonny Gray and the Cardinals reset
Asked if the Cardinals’ offseason approach came as a surprise to him, Gray said, “It doesn’t shock me now that I’ve been here for a year and I’ve seen it first-hand. It doesn’t shock me coming into it as a free agent, and kind of looking at it from the outside in. It was not something I anticipated happening, not something I was told was going to happen, it was more of a ‘resign this guy, get this guy, do this, do that.’ Then having been here and seeing how it plays out and learning the oragnization better, it’s not shocking. In my opinion, it is needed. It’s not what I thought [would happen] originally, but I do understand it from an organization standpoint.”
Asked about what he noticed with this reset, Gray said, “I just think the way that the game has changed and adapted, and the way that, basically that. As a team, if you get caught in a middle-area, if you kind of get caught in the middle, and you have a direction you’re pursuing or truly going after. If you get caught in the middle, what direction are you going? I believe you have to pick a direction and wholeheartedly believe in that direction, and you have to go for it. I don’t think you can try to go in one direction, but try to be going another direction at the same time. I think that’s what ultimately leads you to the middle. I think that probably, try to prevent being in the middle, you have to do something you believe in and go for it.”
Asked about his conversations with Mozeliak, Gray said, “We thought about it [the idea of a trade], and we talked about it, but you still didn’t know. You knew, but you didn’t know, and you ultimately still don’t know, but we processed a lot, we thought about a lot and we try to think, ‘Ok, what’s the best thing for me as a professional, as a player. What’s going to be the best for us as we move forward? There’s a lot of factors that do go into it, but being comfortable here, being happy here. … I did talk to a lot of the older guys in similar situations as me, and we had discussions about everything. Ulitmately, everyone in the same position is looking to make the best decision for themselves. I just think this was the best one for me. I’m still not sold that we can’t win.”
Asked about if he felt the Cardinals organization would be in a better place under a reset, Gray said, “I would say, yes. … In my opinion, I think this is something that will be beneficial to the organization as a whole for the next 10 years.”