MLB News Outside The Confines: Red Sox acquire Sonny Gray from Cardinals

Good morning. The Cold Stove League is thawing.

• The Red Sox and Cardinals made a trade that sends right-hander Sonny Gray to Boston for two pitchers, left-hander Brandon Clarke and right-hander Richard Fitts. Boston is also getting a wheelbarrow full of cash to pay Gray’s salary.

• Will Leitch has five thoughts on the Gray trade.

• R.J. Anderson gives both sides an “A” on this deal.

• Michael Baumann explains what both sides are getting in the Gray swap.

• Jake Mintz also looks at what the Red Sox can expect out of Gray.

• We’re still dealing with the aftermath of the Mets/Rangers trade that sent Marcus Semien to Flushing and Brandon Nimmo to Arlington. MLB dot com looks that the trade from different angles.

• Michael Baumann breaks down the trade from both sides.

• Steve Gardner hands out trade grades to both the Rangers and Mets.

• Mark Feinsand ponders what impact the deal with have on both sides as well as the free agent market.

• One more minor deal. Four days after non-tendering him, the Rays have re-signed outfielder Jake Fraley.

• Russell Dorsey has the five players most likely to be traded this winter.

• David Schoenfield hands out “superlatives” to the best players on the free agent market.

• Andy McCullough has one “Black Friday” deal for every MLB team. (The Athletic sub. req.) I’d definitely take what McCullough is giving out for the Cubs.

• Andrew Simon ranks the best free agent starting pitchers on the market.

• Japanese star right hander Tatsuya Imai said that he’d rather beat the Dodgers and their Japanese players rather than join them. In case you were hoping that this was good news for the Cubs, he clarified that he’d prefer to be the only Japanese player on a team. Michael Clair and Ayako Oikawa report.

• Mike Axisa ranks all 30 teams as a destination for Japanese corner infielder Munetaka Murakami.

• Kiley McDaniel has scouting reports on all the top posted Japanese players.

• Thomas Harrington notes that several teams are reportedly looking at signing closer Ryan Helsley as a starter rather than as a reliever.

• Michael Baumann looks at Helsley’s chances of succeeding as a starter and what he’ll need to do.

• Gabe Lacques thinks a Cody Bellinger/Dodgers reunion makes sense for both sides.

• Ken Rosenthal notes that the Pirates and Marlins are showing a willingness to spend this winter, but their motives may go beyond just wanting to win more games. (The Athletic sub. req.)

• Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said that it was “not fair or accurate” to assume the Yankees turned a profit in 2025. (The Athletic sub. req.) He also said the Yankees may need to cut payroll. These statements were met with much laughter and eye rolling.

• The Rockies took the “interim” tag off of new manager Warren Schaeffer.

• Alden Gonzalez tries to make sense of all the new manager hires.

• Thomas Harrington has the biggest challenge for each of the new managers this year.

• Ben Weinrib has the best minor league prospect for each age, from 16 to 25.

• Mitch Bannon notes that it won’t be easy for teams to imitate the Blue Jays’ successful contact-oriented approach at the plate. (The Athletic sub. req.) In fact, he doesn’t think it will be easy for the Blue Jays to repeat their success.

• Andrew Simon looks at how players with a similar rookie season to the Red Sox Roman Anthony did in their careers.

• Davy Andrews examines how the automatic ball-strike system will affect catcher defense. He suspects that it will emphasize defense rather than detract from it.

• Sad news as former Cub and Japanese legend George Altman died at the age of 92. Our condolences go out to his family, friends and former teammates on both sides of the Pacific.

• Official baseball historian John Thorne looks at what the “Golden Ticket” is and who gets one. It’s a free pass to any baseball game handed out to certain people.

• Former outfielder Curtis Pride has a new autobiography coming out and Pride spoke with Christopher Cornejo about his career as a major leaguer as a deaf man.

• Matt Monagan remembers “Heinie” Heitmuller, who won the 1912 Pacific Coast League batting title after he died.

• And finally, if a zombie apocalypse breaks out while you’re at a ballgame, Davy Andrews looks at what items in a typical on-deck circle would be the most effective zombie-killing weapons.