The Baltimore Orioles’ search for a front line starter just got a little bit harder on Monday.

According to reports from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, one of the Orioles’ top targets signed a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals.

According to Rosenthal, Sonny Gray finalized his deal with the Cardinals. Gray, who just turned 34, will be signing his first free agent deal in his career, a bit shocking when considering his age and tenure in the league.

Gray is signing a three-year, $75 million contract and will be joining Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn in the new-look Cardinals rotation. Gray had an incredible 2023 MLB season where he made his third All-Star game and was the runner-up in the AL Cy Young race.

With Gray off the board it makes it harder for Baltimore to come through on their goal of signing as front line starter. Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jordan Montgomery remain on the board and in play.

Further down the list, Michael Wacha, Marcus Stroman and Lucas Giolito remain available to sign as well.

The Orioles need to make a couple of impact moves when it comes to their pitching staff if they hope to maintain the momentum built off of their 101-win season. Additionally, the AL East is only getting stronger this winter and Baltimore will need to make additions of they hope to counter the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox’ moves.

Gray could have been a fantastic addition to the rotation, but at $25 million a year for a 34-year-old, it seems the Orioles may have been wise to pass on this one.