Cards veteran Gray has a lot left in the tank at 35

JUPITER, Fla. -- The questions as to whether Sonny Gray thinks about how much longer he wants to pitch and can possibly pitch at a high level barely land before the 35-year-old right-hander responds with the speed of one of his fastballs.

All that was missing was the grunt he often elicits while throwing a max-effort pitch.

¡°All the time, all the time,¡± Gray said somewhat sheepishly while flashing a sly smile. ¡°Yeah, all the time.¡±

So, what answer did the ace who anchored the Cardinals¡¯ staff in 2024 and is expected to do so again this season ultimately land on?

¡°Well, I'm still doing it,¡± he said, chuckling again. ¡°I guess the hardest part is leaving [my Middle Tennessee home] and coming to spring. You're always like, ¡®I don't know.¡¯ But once you get into it, you understand how enjoyable it is, and not only for yourself. My family still enjoys it, and as long as my family enjoys it -- my kids and my wife -- then we'll keep doing it.¡±

What obviously makes Gray¡¯s decision easier is that he is still doing it at a high level even though he¡¯s 12 years into a career that¡¯s seen him win 111 games and flirt with numerous no-hitters. At 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, Gray isn¡¯t the biggest of pitchers, but he credits his longevity and the length of his prime to an intensive workout program he uses throughout the offseason. It is one he carries into the season on start and non-start days. When he wonders how much longer he wants to pitch, him being able to stay at a high level of his game factors heavily into the decision.

¡°Physically, I still feel more than capable and mentally I¡¯m strong,¡± said Gray, who will make his first Spring Training start on Friday. ¡°I still love baseball and I still am very good at baseball, so I still feel really good about it.

¡°I think you peak as a pitcher when you get into your low- to mid-30s, so we'll see how the high-30s go. Being who I am with my [smaller] stature, as long as I take care of my body, I¡¯ll be fine. Mentally, I think I'm as strong as ever with the repetitions I've made. But with the pitching, I still feel strong.¡±

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol got a Gray scouting report from other veteran players before his club signed the hard-throwing right-hander to a three-year, $75 million contract in November 2023. However, that scouting report paled in comparison to the almost maniacal attention to detail that Gray showed in ¡®24.

¡°He¡¯s all baseball, his mind is constantly thinking about counts, pitches and watching his teammates, and he cares a lot,¡± Marmol marveled. ¡°So not only is he good, but there¡¯s a reason he¡¯s good, because there¡¯s an intentionality to the way he does everything.

¡°Not only every pitch in the bullpen, but every minute of his day leading up to the bullpen. There are guys who are purposeful in the ¡®pen, but what the hell are you doing with the rest of your time? With him, it¡¯s every minute leading up to that ¡®pen and every minute leading up to that first pitch. And on days in between, that¡¯s when the real work takes place with him. Then that game is the result of everything else he¡¯s put in.¡±

Coming off an American League Cy Young Award runner-up finish with the Twins in 2023, Gray went 13-9 with a 3.84 ERA in 166 1/3 innings over 28 starts. His strikeouts per nine innings (10.98) and strikeout percentage (30.3%) were the best in Cardinals history, but his summation of his season was, ¡°Just OK.¡± That blah feeling is largely because he surrendered 21 home runs -- 13 more than in 2023 -- and foes hit .331 with six home runs off his four-seam fastball, prompting some offseason changes.

¡°The hope is that the work you put in just naturally becomes part of you once the season begins,¡± he said.

Another part of who Gray has become is a veteran leader for the Cards¡¯ pitching staff. When he got to Spring Training, one of the first things he noticed was the dressing stall of Quinn Mathews -- the 2024 Minor League Pitching Prospect of the Year and the No. 45 overall prospect in baseball -- being strategically positioned next to his. Gray still fondly recalls what the veteran mentorship of Bartolo Colon, Scott Kazmir and Jesse Chavez meant to him as a young pitcher with the A's. Now at this late stage of his career, Gray hopes to pass along similar advice to Mathews, who will make his first MLB Spring Training start on Tuesday.

¡°He's a smart kid and I've enjoyed spending time with him,¡± Gray said. ¡°But ultimately, he's the one that's got to go out there and do it.¡±