Fallout from Sonny Gray trade: Can Cardinals' long-term vision coexist with fan urgency?

Fallout from Sonny Gray trade: Can Cardinals' long-term vision coexist with fan urgency?

Author: St. Louis Post-Dispatch November 26, 2025 Duration: 1:03:39

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Two years after the Cardinals signed Sonny Gray as a free agent to headline their pitching, pitching, pitching offseason, the veteran right-handed waived his no-trade clause and renogiated his deal to allow a trade to Boston and underscore the Cardinals' new direction.

Pivoting, pivoting, pivoting.

In a brand new Best Podcast in Baseball, baseball writer Derrick Goold and editor Nathan Mills discuss the fallout from the Sonny Gray trade. They explore the next group of Cardinals likely to be traded with Mills giving a rundown of the left-handed batters and one left-handed pitcher that are generating interest from other teams and what players would be wisest to trade. The $20 million sent with Gray to the Red Sox in exchanage for two young talents, starters Brandon Clarke and Richard Fitts, is a sign of what the Cardinals are willing to pay for younger, cost-controlled talent. So what does that say about the Cardinals' willingness to cover millions of Nolan Arenado's contract to spur a trade of another All-Star?

The discussion arrives at a juncture for the Cardinals.

For years, the club and its fans have been defined by an urgency about what the game today or the move today did to help them win the next World Series. Now, the question seems to have shifted to what the move did today to help them win their next World Series -- in the future, whenever that is. During his press conference following the Gray trade, Chaim Bloom said the urgency fans expect and the long-term view the Cardinals have adopted can coexist, and he added that he welcomes the pressure such urgency puts on their daily decisions, even if the goal is in the distance.

Plus! Questions from chatters and a Thanksgiving thank you to the community of BPIB listerns who have made the podast possible going back to its earliest days of recording in a attic.

In its 13th season as one of the first and most widely heard podcasts on baseball and the Cardinals, the Best Podcast in Baseball has reached a new season-high with 30 episodes. Each episode is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and lead baseball writer Derrick Goold.


For anyone who lives and breathes the rhythm of a 162-game season, Best Podcast in Baseball is your regular, unfiltered dose of diamond discourse. Hosted by Derrick Goold, the lead baseball writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, this podcast digs into the stories that define the St. Louis Cardinals franchise and the wider world of Major League Baseball. The conversation goes beyond box scores, exploring the nuances of roster construction, the evolving strategies of the game, and the unique culture surrounding the national pastime in a city renowned for its passion. With a rotating lineup of insider guests, from beat reporters and former players to front-office minds, each episode offers perspective you won't find anywhere else. It’s a direct line to the analysis, debates, and narratives shaping the Cardinals' present and future, all while celebrating the history and idiosyncrasies that make baseball so compelling. Tune in for thoughtful, authoritative talk that feels like a conversation at the ballpark, capturing both the immediate stakes of a playoff race and the timeless threads that connect generations of fans. This is the essential audio companion for those who want their baseball coverage to be as deep and considered as their fandom.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

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