St. Louis Cardinals right-handed pitcher Sonny Gray has missed a large portion of Spring Training due to a mild hamstring strain and manager Oliver Marmol has decided it would be best for him to open the regular season on the 15-day injured list.
Gray, who signed with the Cardinals for $75 million this offseason, has only appeared in two Grapefruit League games this spring for a total of 3 2/3 innings. So, rather than break camp with the Cardinals on the road against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he will stay in Florida for the next two weeks while he makes three rehab starts.
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“I’m not worried about my leg, but I just need to get into a game,” said Gray, who was officially declared out for the start of the season on Friday by Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol. “I need to face hitters, have an umpire, have a pitch clock, and have a defense and pitch in a game. I think it’s farfetched to say, ‘You’ve thrown 50 pitches and an up-down in a bullpen and faced hitters with coaches standing behind you and no defense’ … . This isn’t even about the health part; I’ve got to get into a game and pitch in a game.”
Sonny Gray to start on IL.
Will make two rehab-like starts before joining rotation.
Zack Thompson into rotation.
Matthew Liberatore into bullpen.
Lars Nootbaar starting year on IlL.— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) March 22, 2024
John Denton of MLB.com wrote that Gray is excited to play in games again with his first opportunity coming on Saturday. He is expected to throw two innings against minor-league hitters and will pitch once more in Florida before appearing with Triple-A Memphis in early April. Denton thinks that if all goes well then Gray will make his debut for the Cardinals against the Philadelphia Phillies (April 8-10) at Busch Stadium.
Hopefully, by then, Gray’s arm will be built up to throw around 85 to 100 pitches.
“We went through a bunch of different scenarios,” Gray said. “They gave me some scenarios. … There were ways to not do the IL. But then, you’re looking at it like, ‘You get one start in a Minor League game and you’re jumping into a big league game, and you can throw maybe three innings.’
“It was nice to have the options, and they were very open to [other plans], but it was ultimately my decision to say, I think it’s right if we do the IL thing, I make three [rehab] starts, I get to pitch 10 to 11 games into this [season] and feel confident that I’ve gotten to where I need to be. I’ve felt good throughout [with the right hamstring], but it was just a matter of getting to a game.”
The two-time All-Star made his major league debut with Oakland in 2013 after being drafted in the first round out of Vanderbilt. He is coming off his second-best year in ERA, 2.79, with the Minnesota Twins and finished 8-8 in 32 starts.
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