St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray seemed poised to follow up his stellar 2023 season, a campaign that saw him pitch well enough to be a Cy Young Award runner-up for the Minnesota Twins.
The Cardinals signed Gray this offseason and gave him a three-year, $75 million contract in hopes that he could be the centerpiece of a revamped pitching rotation.
Two innings into his second spring training appearance, Gray was looking the part. He had thrown 20 pitches with one hit and one strikeout, but he asked for catcher Willson Contreras to meet up with him midway through his next at-bat against Washington Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz.
Gray huddled up with Contreras, the coaching staff and St. Louis’ head athletic trainer, and he was subsequently removed from the game with right hamstring tightness.