Former Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Addition of Sonny Gray makes Cardinals starting rotation even older

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 11/27/23

The St. Louis Cardinals finished last in the NL Central in 2023 and have made it their mission to not let that happen again.

The club has been among the most active this offseason. On Monday, they announced that they signed Sonny Gray to a three-year, $75 million deal.

The signing of Gray comes after the team already added veteran starters, Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson.

The Cardinals' starting rotation for 2024 projects to include newcomers Gray, Lynn, Gibson, and returners Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz.

The Cardinals have pieced together a starting rotation with an average age of 35 years old pic.twitter.com/2bhxJ7TsYE

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) November 27, 2023

The one thing that the Cardinals’ projected starters all have in common is that they are old — or veterans if you want to be kind about it.

Lynn and Gibson are both 36; Mikolas is 35; Gray is 34; and Matz is 32. Their ages are not necessarily a bad thing, though. Four of the five starters made over 30 starts last season. Matz, who is the youngest of the bunch, made 17 starts and pitched 105 innings.

Whether the revamped Cardinals rotation pays off in 2024 remains to be seen. But St. Louis is determined to not be as bad in 2024 as they were in 2023, and they have spent money accordingly.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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