ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals have signed the American League Cy Young Award runner-up to a three-year contract.
The Cardinals announced the deal in a press conference Monday afternoon. Insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the three-year deal was worth $75 million.
"He's a competitor, he's always looking to improve, he's aggressive, he fits this ballpark perfectly, and most importantly, he wanted to be a Cardinal," Cardinals President John Mozeliak said during a Monday afternoon press conference.
Gray, 34, posted a 2.79 ERA in 32 starts for the Minnesota Twins. The right-handed pitcher was an all-star for the third time in his 11-year career, finished second in the American League Cy Young Award and also received MVP votes. He helped the Twins to a first-place finish in the AL Central and pitched five shutout innings in Game 2 on the AL Wild Card series to help the Twins advance to the ALDS.
Gray has pitched for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds and Minnesota Twins in his career.
"Mo's right, going into this thing I wanted to be a Cardinal," Gray said. "That started probably a little over a year ago. It's a place that, every time I've come here as a visitor, I've looked at the stadium and I've said, 'Wow, this place is incredible.' I looked around the seats, and I seen fans, and the fans continue to show up and support this team. Then you talk around the league, and you talk around guys who've been all over the place, and everybody raves about St. Louis."
The reported deal with Gray comes less than a week after the Cardinals added two other veteran arms to the starting rotation. Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn, both 36, were signed to short-term deals to help bolster the rotation.
"We entered the season with one simple goal, and that was pitching, pitching, pitching. I'd say so far, so good," Mozeliak said.
Lynn pitched 183 innings with a career-worst 5.73 ERA in 2023. He signed a one-year deal with a team option to extend the deal through the 2025 season.
Gibson, a former standout for the Missouri Tigers, was a member of the AL East champion Baltimore Orioles in 2023. He won 15 games with a 4.73 ERA in 33 starts. He has a career ERA of 4.54 and has made nearly 300 starts in his 11-year career.
"Pitching is something that I love to do. Winning is something that I love to do. Creating a pitching culture, working with other pitchers on the staff, pushing each individual pitcher to get better — that's something that I truly, truly enjoy," Gray said.
Other pitchers on the Cardinals roster with starting experience include Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz, Matthew Liberatore, Zack Thompson and Drew Rom.
Watch the full news conference announcing Gray's signing here:
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