Even following a series win in Seattle, the reality of the situation for the Boston Red Sox is starting to sink in. This is a team likely heading for selling at the Trade Deadline.
One of the best trade pieces the Red Sox have is veteran starting pitcher Sonny Gray. Effectively on a one-year contract, he could make a nice rental piece for some team that needs pitching depth for its playoff push. There’s a catch, though, and that’s Gray’s no-trade clause, which could torpedo a move.
Luckily, for the Red Sox, per Tim Healey of The Boston Globe, Gray is open to talking about waiving his no-trade clause.
“If someone came to me from the Red Sox and made a decision that that’s the direction that this team was going to go, I would be open for a conversation,” Gray said. “Whatever happens from then, only time will tell. But I would be open for a conversation.”
This season, Gray has pitched 69.1 innings in 13 starts. In that time, he has a 3.12 ERA, a 1.183 WHIP, and 7.1 strikeouts per nine. He has not allowed more than 3 earned runs in a start since April 14th.
Now in his age 36 season, Gray has made stops with the Oakland A’s, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins, and St. Louis Cardinals. A Tennessee native, he didn’t want to talk about the geography of his next move.
“Don’t necessarily want to look too far ahead at that. It is a fair question,” Gray said.
Of course, all of this means that in the offseason, when Chaim Bloom traded Gray to the Red Sox, he needed Gray’s permission to do so. That process included getting a list of teams Gray would be willing to waive his no-trade clause for. Presumably, it would be a similar conversation in Boston this season.
“I really liked Chaim, liked talking to him. I thought he was easy to talk to,” Gray said. “And after that, then yes, I sent him a list of teams that I would be willing to consider, and then just go from there.”
Boston Red Sox SP Sonny Gray Was Connected to the Atlanta Braves
GettyBoston Red Sox SP Sonny Gray
Given where the Boston Red Sox are in their season, it’s not surprising that Sonny Gray has had his name come up for several different teams. However, one team that has consistently made sense for Gray is the Atlanta Braves.
The most recent of those came from Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. While listing the top potential trade candidates, he noted that Gray would make sense for the Braves. That’s particularly true given their injuries at starting pitcher.
“Gray has been one of the few bright spots for the underachieving Red Sox, going 8-1 with a 3.03 ERA in his first 12 starts of the season,” Feinsand wrote. “The 36-year-old right-hander has a full no-trade clause, but the opportunity to move to a contender could prompt Gray to approve a deal. Gray is in the final year of his three-year, $75 million deal, and while he has a $30 million club option for 2027, he can opt out and become a free agent if the option is exercised.”
Importantly, despite what looks like a large contract, the money attached to Gray is manageable. The Cardinals are eating a portion of the contract and, despite a large annual number, this is only going to be for part of the season.
Sonny Gray on the State of the Red Sox
GettyBoston Red Sox SP Sonny Gray
The last time Sonny Gray took the mound was on June 18th. He had a quality start, but the Red Sox lost and managed to get swept by the Toronto Blue Jays.
After the game, Gray admitted the Red Sox are in a bad place and that something needs to change quickly.
“I can’t speak on behalf of the group, but I can speak on behalf of myself. It’s very frustrating,” Gray said. “We’re not good, we’re just not a good team right now, and that’s just a fact.”
The Red Sox did respond to that by taking two out of three games from the Seattle Mariners. They’ll hope to keep that success going against the Colorado Rockies, but at 31-44, it might already be too late.
Red Sox SP Sonny Gray Shares if He’d Be Willing to Waive No-Trade Clause