The St. Louis Cardinals were easily one of the most disappointing teams of the 2023 MLB season. They took a big step back this year, finishing the regular season with just a 71-91 record, widely missing the playoffs. One of the culprits for the Cards' poor showing in 2023 was their starting rotation that ranked among the worst in the big leagues, so it's not surprising to hear rumors that the team will be taking a serious approach in free agency to address their issues on the mound.

One of the names that has already being linked to the Cardinals is Minnesota Twins pitcher Sonny Gray, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

“The St. Louis Cardinals will strongly pursue Minnesota Twins free agent Sonny Gray this winter.”

Gray had his $12.7 million club option for 2023 picked up by the Twins and reciprocated Minnesota's trust by putting together one of his career's best seasons.

Gray is coming off an impressive 2023 campaign in which he successfully boosted his stock. In 32 starts for the Twins this year, Gray went 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA and a 2.83 FIP. He lowered his home run rate to a career-best 1.1 percent while also slightly improving his walk rate from 7.4 percent in 2022 to 7.3 percent in 2023. His body of work in the first half of the 2023 season earned him an All-Star nod — his first since 2019 and third overall in his MLB career that started way back in 2013 with the Oakland Athletics. Moreover, Gray led all Twins starters with a 5.3 fWAR.

The Cardinals finished the 2023 regular season just 26th in the MLB with a 5.08 starters ERA and 22nd in starters FIP (4.61).