While the Twins were swapping out position players with the Yankees, earlier in the day they made a move to boost the rotation, acquiring starting pitcher Sonny Gray (a former Yankee, by the way) from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Chase Petty, an 18-year-old right-hander who was the 26th overall pick in last year’s draft. Additionally, the Twins received 24-year-old Class A pitcher Francis Peguero.
The move gives Minnesota a replacement for Jose Berrios, who was traded to Toronto in July, with Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey calling Gray “an anchor in our rotation” in comments after the trade.
"“We’re excited about his future, but the ability to access someone like Sonny Gray, who we think pitches at the top of the rotation for anybody, it’s very unique,” Falvey said. “We think this is a guy who really establishes an anchor in our rotation, a guy that young players can look up to and someone we think is really going to lead us.”"
Expect Gray to lead Minnesota’s rotation, a unit that has plenty of question marks still. Can Randy Dobnak and Dylan Bundy right their respective ships and provide quality starts? Can young pitchers Bailey Ober and Joe Ryan continue to grow into their roles?
If everything falls into place, the Twins will have Gray as the face of the rotation. If everything falls apart, the Twins have Gray and his $10.7 million contract (with $13 million club option for 2023) available as a potential trade chip at the MLB trade deadline. That’s a winning scenario in either case.