The Boston Red Sox didn’t wait around to add an All-Star to the team’s starting rotation.

Boston acquired Sonny Gray from the St. Louis Cardinals earlier in the week in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals. The Red Sox got a deal done with Chaim Bloom — who now is the president of baseball operations for St. Louis — but is there more to come?

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That’s the question that immediately popped up after news broke signaling the Gray deal. WEEI’s Rob Bradford weighed in and noted that while it’s unclear if another deal is coming, there are some in the organization who think Gray is right on line with Minnesota Twins hurler Joe Ryan.

Did the Red Sox make the right move?

“It was (Craig Breslow) who (thankfully) introduced the number-assigning during that early November get-together, so that’s why the Gray acquisition was met with the need for some definition right away,” Bradford wrote. “Can Gray slot in ‘alongside’ Crochet, or have the Red Sox simply taken advantage of an opportunity to get another ‘3-ish’ starting pitching option?

“The answer is a bit more complicated than most anticipated. There are absolutely some in the Red Sox’s front office who believe what Gray represents is exactly what Breslow was talking about. His ability to strike guys out, miss bats, and control the strike zone helps make that case. Some in those offices would even say 2025 Gray isn’t that far off from 2025 Joe Ryan.”

This is notable because the Red Sox reportedly tried to bring Ryan to town this past summer ahead of the trade deadline. A deal obviously didn’t happen and there have been rumors already this offseason that Ryan could be a target for Boston.

Ryan is younger at 29 years old, in comparison to Gray at 36 years old. But they did have more similar seasons than you’d initially expect. Gray went 14-8 on the season with a 4.28 ERA in 32 starts to go along with a 201-to-38 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 180 2/3 innings pitched with a 3.39 FIP.

Ryan went 13-10 with a 3.42 ERA in 31 outings to go along with a 194-to-39 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 171 innings with a 3.74 FIP. Ryan had a better ERA, but Gray had a better FIP, which tries to eliminate the impact of the defense. All in all, there’s merit to the idea that these two are closer than expected, but Boston likely gave up a significantly smaller package to get Gray.

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