St. Louis Cardinals top starter Sonny Gray suffered a mild hamstring strain and his Opening Day status is in jeopardy, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told reporters in Jupiter, Florida, on Tuesday morning.
“That’s something that will slow (Gray) down,” Mozeliak said. “But we definitely don’t think it’s going to be something that lasts well into the season.”
Gray, who signed a three-year, $75 million contract in November, was expected to be the Cardinals' No. 1 starter heading into the season and was officially named the team's Opening Day starter last week. However, the 34-year-old right-hander felt tightness in his hamstring after throwing a pitch in the second inning of his second exhibition start on Monday and promptly left the game. Gray underwent an MRI scan later that evening, which revealed the minor strain.
The Cardinals are scheduled to open the 2024 season on March 28 against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. With approximately three weeks remaining until that date, the runway for Gray's evacuation is tight.
“I would imagine the (opening day start) is questionable, but we'll give it some time,” Mozeliak said, later adding that the current spring schedule would make it “challenging” for Gray to get that start to accomplish .
Gray has had problems with his right hamstring before. He missed more than a month of the 2022 season with the Minnesota Twins due to two separate hamstring strains, but had a healthy 2023, making all 32 starts and finishing second in American League Cy Young Award voting.
Mozeliak described Gray's burden as “less” than what he faced in 2022. Still, hamstring injuries can be tricky, and the Cardinals have no timetable for when Gray might be cleared to return to play.
“I’m not going to put a return to play (schedule) on it,” Mozeliak said. “It's been less than 24 hours so we'll just see how he reacts over the next few days. But the MRI findings definitely encourage us.”
The Cardinals rotation without Gray currently consists of Miles Mikolas, Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn and Steven Matz, with either Matthew Liberatore or Zack Thompson slated for the fifth spot. St. Louis had also previously discussed starting the year with a six-man rotation, and that option remains.
After signing Gray, Gibson and Lynn (along with a host of backup players) in the offseason, Mozeliak had ruled out his boy adding another starter. Top free agents Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery (a former Cardinal) remain available, but there is no sign that Gray's injury will change the organization's mindset until there is a clearer timeline for Gray's recovery.
“I definitely feel like (adding pitching depth) isn’t necessary at this point,” Mozeliak said. “If something changes we need to look at it differently, but we don't think we need to at this point.
“I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this won’t take too long.”
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(Photo: AP Photo / Jeff Roberson)