It now appears all but certain that the Boston Red Sox are going to lose Sonny Gray in free agency. The veteran had publicly considered retirement, but now it seems like he’ll be finding a new home in free agency.
In The Athletic, Patrick Mooney and Shadev Sharma broke down what they expect to see from Gray. That’s some ties to his home in Tennessee, which the Chicago Cubs have.
“Having a Vanderbilt connection isn’t a prerequisite, but it probably doesn’t hurt that the Cubs have a Gold Glove shortstop (Dansby Swanson), a bench coach (Ryan Flaherty) and a general manager (Carter Hawkins) with ties to the same SEC program. Chicago’s relative proximity to the Nashville area, where Gray’s family is rooted, could also be a plus for a pitcher at this late stage of his career,” Patrick Mooney and Shadev Sharma wrote.
Why the Boston Red Sox and Sonny Gray are Likely Splitting
There’s no doubt that Sonny Gray and the Red Sox seemed like a great match. Together, they put together what was arguably the best individual season of Gray’s career.
In 29 starts and 169 innings, Gray had an 18-5 record. That was paired with a 2.72 ERA and a 1.148 WHIP. Despite it being his age 36 season, it was his best ERA in any season where he threw more than 100 innings.
However, the ending with the Red Sox was a little bit awkward. Gray wasn’t happy being pulled after 4.2 innings in a decisive elimination game. He let everyone know after the fact, too.
The bigger issue remains his contract with the Red Sox. There is a mutual option for 2027 that both Gray and the Red Sox would need to agree to. That’s for $30 million and teams almost never pick up these options. Instead, the Red Sox are expected to buy him out at $10 million and let him become a free agent.
The Red Sox will likely want to spend their money elsewhere. The lineup, in particular, needs much more work than the rotation. So, Gray is presumably walking after one season.
“Assuming the Red Sox have to pay Gray the $10 million buyout of a mutual contractual option for 2027, the Cubs would be drawn to his groundball rate, which ranked in the top 10 among all major-league pitchers who qualified for the ERA title this year,” Patrick Mooney and Shadev Sharma wrote.
“If Gray wants to take it one year at a time, the Cubs have historically shown a willingness to boost a deal’s average annual value in exchange for the flexibility of a short-term commitment.”
Other Potential Sonny Gray Landing Spots
The Chicago Cubs are far from Gray’s only option. In fact, any team in need of a veteran starter who has been consistently healthy and just proved he can still be one of the best pitchers in baseball is going to have some interest in Gray.
Among the most notable teams that jumps out, however, is the Atlanta Braves. Coming off a relatively quick playoff exit, the Braves are looking for reinforcements.
As for Gray, Georgia may not be Tennessee, but it’s just about the closest he’ll get to home. At his age, that’s been something of a rumored desire for him.
Red Sox SP Sonny Gray Connected to NL Central Contender Ahead of Free Agency