The Red Sox made a pre-Thanksgiving splash on Tuesday when they dealt two prospects to the Cardinals for veteran former All-Star Sonny Gray. St. Louis also threw in $20 million to defray a large chunk of Gray’s salary.

How much does the move elevate the Red Sox, who are trying to build on last year’s playoff appearance?

Five quick thoughts on Red Sox acquiring Sonny Gray | Sean McAdam

Experts weighed in. Below are excerpts of the analysis from trade-grade articles.

ESPN

ESPN liked the deal overall pointing to Gray’s strikeout-to-walk numbers, but warned that Gray’s fastball gets hit hard:

“Gray did throw his three fastball variants 53% of the time, so maybe the Red Sox suggest a different pitch mix -- the four-seamer, while it gives him the one pitch Gray throws up in the zone

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