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New York Yankees: Why Sonny Gray Should Get Another Shot

By Manny Gómez |
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 21: Sonny Gray #55 of the New York Yankees looks on during the game against the New York Mets at Yankee Stadium on July 21, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Rob Tringali/SportsChrome/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 21: Sonny Gray #55 of the New York Yankees looks on during the game against the New York Mets at Yankee Stadium on July 21, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Rob Tringali/SportsChrome/Getty Images)
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BALTIMORE, MD – JUNE 01: Sonny Gray #55 of the New York Yankees pitches during a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 1, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. The Yankees won 4-1. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD – JUNE 01: Sonny Gray #55 of the New York Yankees pitches during a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 1, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. The Yankees won 4-1. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

In 2018, Sonny Gray was a persona non grata in the Bronx, but should the Yankees give him another chance?

When the Oakland Athletics finally decided to trade Sonny Gray to New York in 2017, Yankees fans were elated. Don’t let the 2018 season fool you, from the “Bleacher Creatures” way down to the Wall Street yuppies sitting ahead of the “moat”, the Yankees and their fans thought they had their man.

Even Gray was elated to be traded to a team that was contending for a championship. He said so himself in a piece on The Players Tribune called “New York, I’m Ready to Go”.

Something sinister happened in 2018, however, that turned Gray’s short tenure with the Yankees into a complete disaster. The mere sight of the guy incited boo’s from the stands. Even Gray began to doubt himself, taking any and every opportunity to rail against himself. Saying things like:

“I get it… If I was out there, I probably would have booed me louder. I understand how important these games are and I understand how important every game is, especially here with the Yankees. We expect to win. To go out and perform the way I did … Like I said, I probably would have booed a little louder.”

But what if I were to tell you that Gray’s tenure with the Yankees hasn’t really been all that bad?

NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 01: Sonny Gray #55 of the New York Yankees speaks to the media prior to a game against the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium on August 1, 2017 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 01: Sonny Gray #55 of the New York Yankees speaks to the media prior to a game against the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium on August 1, 2017 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Sonny Gray: The Good

Pretend you’re a vulture flying 30,000 feet over ground. You look down for food to eat, but you don’t wan’t the bad stuff. From a distance, Gray’s stats (4.90 ERA / 4.17 FIP / 1.496 WHIP) don’t seem all that appetizing, right?

There are plenty of other guys more ripe for the picking.

Then, you start to descend because from that high above, everything kinda looks the same. Now, you have a closer look at the landscape. You spot Sonny Gray again, and this time you see that Gray is no better and no worse than league average (LgAVG) in the following categories:

  • K/9 – 8.5
  • HR/FB – 13%

You descend even closer now because this Sonny Gray character isn’t looking quite as bad as you thought, but you’re not sure. To your surprise, it turns out Gray is actually better than league average in the these categories:

  • W-L% – Gray: .550 / LgAVG: .530
  • HR/9 – Gray: 1 / LgAVG: 1.2
  • GB% – Gray: 50% / LgAVG: 43%

You can’t believe what you’re seeing, so you return to your group – your flock of vultures, if you will – and you rehash the past. You recall all of the mediocre players you’ve picked off, swallowed and spit out because the taste was so bad.

Comparatively, Gray’s ($7.7M w/ the Yankees) atrocious 2018 season – 4.90 ERA / 4.17 FIP / 1.496 WHIP – was actually better than some of those other guys you exerted so much energy to obtain.

  • Kei Igawa (5-years, $20M) – 6.66 ERA / 6.19 FIP / 1.758 WHIP
  • Hideki Irabu (3-years, $8.4M) – 4.80 ERA / 4.97 FIP / 1.405 WHIP
  • Jaret Wright (2-years, $13.3M) – 4.99 ERA / 4.60 FIP / 1.603 WHIP
  • Kenny Rogers (2-years, $10M) – 5.11 ERA / 4.94 FIP / 1.497 WHIP
  • Carl Pavano (4-years, $39.95M) – 5.00 ERA / 4.95 FIP / 1.455 WHIP

You decide that it is worth your time to give this Sonny Gray a chance, but first you decide to take an even closer look.

End of metaphor.

NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 15: Sonny Gray #55 of the New York Yankees reacts against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on August 15, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 15: Sonny Gray #55 of the New York Yankees reacts against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on August 15, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Sonny Gray: The Bad and the Ugly

We can all agree that Sonny Gray is not as bad as we think he is. A guy doesn’t rank in the top three in the Cy Young vote like Gray did in 2015 for nothing. A guy doesn’t rank top 10 in ERA 3x  in his 6-year career for no reason either.

At the same time, we can all agree that the bad aspects of Sonny Gray’s game are pretty damn bad. For example, Gray ranked 9th worst among all SP last season in BB/9 (3.9), and 12th worst in H/9 (9.53). Because of this, Sonny Gray had the third worst WHIP (1.50) in all MLB.

Baserunners, as we know, equals runs, and runs equals wins… for the opposition in this case.

The scariest aspect of Gray’s game, however, are his home/away splits. In 2018, Sonny Gray went from being one of the top pitchers in MLB in away games, to arguably the worst in home games.

In away games, Sonny Gray was far better than league average (in fact, in 2018 he ranked in the top 25) in ALL of the following stats:

  • ERA – Gray: 3.17 / LgAVG: 4.01
  • H/9 – Gray: 7.6 / LgAVG: 8.4
  • BB/9 – Gray: 2.8 / LgAVG: 3.0
  • HR/9 – Gray: 0.4 / LgAVG: 1.1 (Leads MLB)
  • SO/9 – Gray: 9.9 / LgAVG: 8.3

Like Jekyll & Hyde, however, put Sonny Gray on the mound for a start in the Bronx, and all hell breaks loose. Gray is so bad at home, that the Yankees might as well have avoided using him in New York altogether last season.

In home starts, Gray ranks in the bottom three in MLB in the following stats:

  • ERA – Gray: 6.98 / LgAVG: 3.84
  • H/9 – Gray: 11.9 / LgAVG: 8.3
  • BB/9 – Gray: 5.3 / LgAVG: 2.8

More from Call to the Pen

While MLB starting pitchers tend to get better at home – based on ERA (H: 3.84 vs A: 4.01) – Sonny Gray is the exact opposite. He shrinks under the bright lights of Broadway.

However, given that Gray is entering his final year under club control, and will become an unrestricted free agent next season, he should have something to prove. Given how well he pitches in away games, the Yankees coaching staff should be able to tap into something that will help Gray replicate those types of performances at home.

Perhaps it’s something like a mental skills coach. Former Yankees starting pitcher and currently unemployed mental skills coach, Bob Tewksbury, might have a thing or two to show Sonny Gray. Tewksbury got through 13 big league seasons with subpar stuff using mental skills strategies like “mental imagery,” which he details in his latest book Ninety Percent Mental.

Next. The sudden fall of a Yankees prospect. dark

The point is, why not give Gray another shot if you’re the Yankees? After once showing so much faith in him by giving up good prospects in order to bring him to New York, you’re suddenly going to throw in the towel? Even though he has shown promise?

I say, give him another shot. He might surprise us all.

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