After landing Sonny Gray at the 2017 trade deadline, the young pitcher has struggled in pinstripes and the New York Yankees have revealed they will be looking to trade him this winter. What teams will be interested in acquiring Gray?
On Friday, New York Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman addressed reporters at the teams’ annual end-of-season press conference. Overall, Cashman was rather conservative when it came to sharing his offseason plans for the franchise, but he made one thing clear — Sonny Gray will not be with the Yankees in 2019.
Yankees are open-minded to trading Sonny Gray, says Brian Cashman. pic.twitter.com/CbezfLuhRQ
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) October 12, 2018
The Yankees acquired Sonny Gray from the Oakland Athletics at the non-waiver trade deadline in 2017, and has had a miserable year and a half in the Bronx. Since donning the pinstripes, Gray has made 33 starts, sporting a 4.51 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 4.40 FIP, 84 walks, and 182 strikeouts in 195.2 innings. He struggled severely this season — 4.90 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 9.5 Hits/9, 89 ERA+ in 130.1 innings — and was ultimately demoted to the bullpen by August. Gray was omitted from the Yankees’ postseason roster, revealing the team had had enough of the 28-year old right-hander.
If you only look at Gray’s numbers with the Yankees, they would indicate that he’s not a good pitcher. That’s because he hasn’t been a good pitcher for New York. But when Gray was with the Athletics, he was one of the game’s best young starting pitchers and regarded as a future star with good reason. In four and a half seasons with the A’s, “Pickles” (yes, that’s his real nickname) made 112 starts with an impressive 3.42 ERA, complimented by a 1.20 WHIP, 3.56 FIP, 114 ERA +, and 607 strikeouts.
In 2015, a 25-year old Gray was one of the best pitchers in the Majors; a 2.73 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 14-7 record earned him an All-Star nod as well as a third place finish in the American League Cy Young voting. Overall, Gray had a 44-36 record for an Athletics team that provided him only 3.89 runs/9 innings. For reference, he had a 15-16 record with the Yankees albeit a significantly better run support of 4.78 RS/9.
Sonny Gray was a rising phenom with the Athetics, however the Yankees were unable to tap into his potential. Therefore New York’s management has decided it is best for both sides to move on, and as a result there is no doubt Gray will be dealt prior to Opening Day 2019. The Yankees have all winter to trade Gray, but what team will he be traded to?
The Yankees will undoubtedbly field calls from an abundance of teams regarding Gray, as his untapped potential will be worth the capital risk for many. Gray will be heading into his final year of arbitration, and he will be part of the 2020 free agent class. Additionally, the Yankees have recently lost Didi Gregorius to Tommy John surgery, and New York’s shortstop is expected to miss a ‘chunk’ of the 2019 season. This could result in the Yankees looking to add a starting-caliber middle infielder in the winter.
With that information in mind, I’ve taken a glimpse into CTTP’s crystal ball and determined the likeliest trade destinations for Sonny Gray. Continue through the slideshow to see what three teams are best positioned to acquire Gray this offseason.