Cardinals’ Sonny Gray gets final Opening Day injury update

The St. Louis Cardinals are eager to bounce back from a disappointing 2023 season. Pitching is a major area of improvement and the team addressed it with the additions of staff ace Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson. Unfortunately, Gray won’t be ready when the season begins.

Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said that Gray, who is nursing a hamstring injury amid Spring Training, will not be cleared in time for Opening Day, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic. However, Gray could still pitch during the first road trip of the season and avoid an IL stint.

Sonny Gray signed a deal with the Cardinals worth $75 million over three years. He was an All-Star in 2023 with the Minnesota Twins, posting a 2.79 ERA over 184.0 innings. The three-time All-Star is doing work on the mound as the season approaches but

The Cardinals still have stars in place with Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras and intriguing young talents like Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar and Masyn Winn. But their pitching needed an overhaul after trading Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty and losing Adam Wainwright to retirement. Gray, at the very least, should greatly help the red birds once he gets healthy. But the lineup and defense are going to have to carry the workload.

According to Woo, Marmol said that Miles Mikolas will be the starter on Opening Day. The Cardinals will face the superteam known as the Los Angeles Dodgers. While St. Louis is overmatched, Mikolas’ comments about the Dodgers’ luxurious spending on player contracts should add a little bit of spice.