BREAKING: Red Sox Acquire Sonny Gray in Trade with St. Louis Cardinals
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St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray
MLB’s hot stove is cooking! After the first few weeks of the offseason were a little slow, as they usually are, front offices across the league are starting to make bold moves in attempts to improve their respective rosters.
The most recent bombshell came after ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that the Boston Red Sox are acquiring Sonny Gray from the St. Louis Cardinals. Gray has a no-trade clause, but agreed to waive it for this deal. The Cardinals received two pitchers in the deal. Right-handed starter Richard Fitts and southpaw Brandon Clarke
Sonny Gray Heads to Boston in Blockbuster Offseason Trade
This past week has featured several trades across MLB that will have major implications in 2026.
The Mets traded for Marcus Semien earlier this week, and the Orioles linked up with the Angels for Taylor Ward.
In this major move, it’s the Red Sox who land the three-time All-Star in Gray. Sonny Gray posted a 4.28 ERA over 32 starts in 2025. He has a career 3.58 ERA in 13 MLB seasons. 2026 will mark Gray’s 14th season in baseball, and the Red Sox will serve as his sixth MLB organization that he’s been a member of.
It is expected that the Cardinals would be aggressive this offseason in the trade market, as there was a transition of front office power with Chaim Bloom taking over for John Mozeliak. How ironic is it that Bloom’s first major move as president of baseball operations has him sending an All-Star caliber starter to the team he used to be the top front office executive of.
GettySt. Louis Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray
Gray’s best season as a starter came in 2023 when he finished second in AL Cy Young voting with the Minnesota Twins. That stellar season landed him a three-year, $75 million contract with the Cardinals, which is set to expire after this season, but there is a 2027 team option that the Red Sox will now have to decide what to do with. The Cardinals are covering $20 million of Gray’s final $35 million on the contract for this season.
The immediate reaction from this trade is that the Red Sox added a much-needed No.2-3 starter to pair with ace Garrett Crochet. Boston was aggressive last season, and it paid off with a playoff berth for the first time in a few seasons.
This deal highlights that the Red Sox will be aggressive this offseason. Boston still has big decisions to make regarding third baseman Alex Bregman, and how they will address the issue at first base. However, this is a great first step in what should be a busy winter.
The Cardinals’ Side of This Trade
As for the Cardinals’ side of this trade. The major meaning is that the Cardinals are in rebuild mode. They likely won’t compete in the NL Central in 2026, but it also begs the question of when Nolan Arenado will be moved. It’s been reported that Arenado and Chaim Bloom are on the same page in terms of reaching a deal with a potential suitor.
St. Louis acquires Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke in this deal. Clarke is the fifth-ranked Red Sox prospect, and Fitts is also a young pitcher, but he got his feet wet this season as a starter. Fitts posted a 5.00 ERA in 10 starts with the Red Sox this season. He’s still just 25 years old.
The fascinating part of this deal is the Red Sox holding onto all of their top prospects, which still gives them one of the best farm systems in baseball.
Emeka Egbuka’s Sudden Drop-Off Raises Big Fantasy Football Questions
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka.
For the first month of the season, Emeka Egbuka looked like a league-winning fantasy gem.
Across his first five games, he posted 25 catches for 445 yards and five touchdowns.
He drew national praise and kept an injury-plagued Buccaneers offense afloat and led them to a 5-1 record.
But over his last six outings the numbers have fallen off a cliff.
He has only 23 catches for 304 yards and just one touchdown since Week 5, a decline highlighted by Yahoo Fantasy Sports on Sunday.
Yahoo even broke it down bluntly: 18 fantasy points per game in Weeks 1-5, just 8 per game from Weeks 6-12.
His latest outing didn’t help quiet concerns.
In Tampa Bay’s lopsided loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Egbuka was held to three catches for 32 yards.
Most of that came on a single deep grab from Teddy Bridgewater in garbage time of the fourth quarter.
The first-rounder out of Ohio State looks like a player fighting through a rookie wall.
And fantasy managers are asking a simple question: Will he regain his early-season success?
What’s Changed for Egbuka?
The short answer is that almost everything around him has deteriorated.
Tampa Bay’s offense has been gutted by injuries for weeks.
The Buccaneers have been rolling out a shredded offensive line.
They also haven’t seen Bucky Irving since Week 4, and Mike Evans and Chris Godwin have appeared in only a handful of games combined.
That left Egbuka as the focal point of defensive game plans and opponents have adjusted.
Quarterback play has been equally shaky.
Baker Mayfield opened the year hot and was even considered by many to be the MVP favorite after Week 6.
Since then, he has dealt with a shoulder injury, inconsistent accuracy, and declining efficiency.
In the Rams game, he exited at halftime, forcing Bridgewater into action and further disrupting the passing rhythm for Egbuka.
A rookie wideout asked to carry an entire offense behind a damaged line and a injured QB room is rarely going to sustain elite production.
And that’s exactly what’s shown up on the stat sheet.
He has fewer explosive plays, more contested targets, and a dramatic drop in scoring opportunities as the Bucs offense as a whole has taken a major step back.
Defenses no longer fear Tampa’s run game, they no longer fear a healthy Evans, and they know that taking away Egbuka means taking away the most important part of their offense.
Egbuka’s Fantasy Football Outlook Going Forward
Even with the recent struggles, it’s not all doom for fantasy managers.
Egbuka still leads all rookies in receiving touchdowns and still profiles as the clear WR1 in Tampa.
The Tampa Bay offense will get a boost this week with the return of Bucky Irving.
That will take a lot of the pressure off of the rookie wideout.
Additionally, Emeka has an amazing schedule ahead of him with six straight favorable fantasy football matchups.
He will face off against the Cardinals and Saints in the next two weeks and then Panthers twice and Dolphins in the fantasy football playoffs.
All four of those defenses are in the bottom 10 of the entire NFL.
The only concern for me is the status of Baker Mayfield.
Monday’s MRI has revealed that Mayfield has sustained a low-grade strain, according to NFL Media.
This means that Tampa Bay could get Mayfield back as early as Sunday’s game against the Cardinals.
Egbuka is definitely a buy-low type of guy right now and could get back to his early-season form as the Bucs offense continues to be healthy.
With Godwin and Irving back now, Mayfield’s status trending, and the return of Mike Evans in the near future, the Bucs offense could be back to full strength soon.
This will open up things dramatically for Egbuka for a fantasy football playoff surge.
