Chaim Bloom on pitchers Richard Fitz and Brandon Clarke who the Cardinals acquired in a trade for starting pitcher Sonny Gray.
- LOUIS, MO., November 25, 2025 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have completed a multi-player trade with the Boston Red Sox, acquiring pitchers Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke, and a player to be named later or cash considerations, in exchange for pitcher Sonny Gray and cash considerations.
“We are pleased to add these two talented young pitchers to our organization,” stated Cardinals President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom. “Richard Fitts has already begun his big league career, and with his power stuff and willingness to attack the strike zone, he has the ability to start games at the highest level for many years. Brandon Clarke is an exciting left-handed prospect whose ceiling rivals that of any pitcher in the minor leagues. Both have the potential to be part of our growing core for a long time, and we are happy to welcome them to the Cardinals.”
Fitts, 25, is a 6-3, 245-pound right-hander who has made 15 appearances (14 starts) for the Red Sox over the past two seasons, going 2-5 with a 3.97 ERA over 65.2 innings pitched. He allowed 3 runs or fewer in 11 of his 14 career starts for the Red Sox and worked 5.0+ innings in eight starts. Fitts matched his career-high with 6 strikeouts in a 4.0 inning relief outing on Aug. 25, 2025 at Baltimore.
A former 6th round draft choice of the New York Yankees in 2021 out of Auburn University, Fitts was traded to the Red Sox in December of 2023. He has logged 80 games in the minors including 30 with Triple-A Worcester where he went 11-6 with a 4.13 ERA.
Fitts entered the 2025 season ranked as the Red Sox 12th best prospect by Baseball America and was listed as having the “best control” among pitchers in the Boston farm system.
Clarke, 22, was a Red Sox 5th round draft pick in 2024 and made 14 professional starts in 2025 between Greenville (High-A) and Salem (A), striking out 60 over his 38.0 innings pitched. The 6-4, 220-pound left-hander pitched for State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota and is a native of Ashburn, VA. Clarke is currently ranked as the 5th best prospect in the Red Sox system by MLB Pipeline.
-STL-
