Sonny Gray's mutual option was declined after a tremendous season with the Boston Red Sox.
Gray has decided that he wants to keep pitching, and he should have no shortage of suitors on the open market. Despite playing in his 14th season at 36 years old, he posted a 2.72 ERA and had one of the best years of his career. He is more than just a middle rotation arm, but it does not sound like the Red Sox will bring him back.
"Gray was fantastic, the team’s best starter," wrote The Boston Globe's Alex Speier. "But at this stage of the offseason, it seems unlikely the Sox will bring him back via free agency given the expected return to health of Crochet and emergence of Tolle."
The Red Sox should have Crochet, Tolle, Ranger Suarez and Jake Bennett in the rotation next year. They will likely be expecting Brayan Bello to return to being a quality starter like he was in 2025, and his second-half success last season should reassure them.
It's hard to argue they will be better without Gray, but they made it through last season without their ace, essentially. They have bigger needs to address than the rotation.
"While the Sox may look to add depth, they consider lineup upgrades more critical — particularly given their growing confidence in their pitching pipeline to stabilize the rotation," wrote Speier. "Of course, such a statement comes with the caveat that in the 2025-26 offseason, the Sox didn’t plan on signing Suarez, but did so once they whiffed on their top positional targets."