The war of words between Sonny Gray and the New York Yankees isn’t over, and it seems unlikely to be anytime soon.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman opened up about his memory of Gray’s tenure with the Yankees after the now-Boston Red Sox starting pitcher told reporters last week that “it is easy to hate the Yankees.”
The Yankees acquired Gray from the Oakland Athletics on July 31, 2017 for James Kaprielian, Dustin Fowler and Jorge Mateo. He had by far his worst career numbers over his one-plus seasons in New York, going 15-16 with a 4.51 ERA in 195 2/3 innings over 41 appearances and 34 starts.
The Red Sox acquired Gray from the St. Louis Cardinals for pitchers Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke and a player to be named later Nov. 25.
Brian Cashman: Sonny Gray ‘Never Wanted To Be’ In New York
Not everyone can play in New York, but many at least give it an honest effort. According to Cashman, that was not the case with Gray, since he apparently lied about wanting to be on the Yankees in the first place.
“When he was with the A’s, he was telling our Minor League video coordinator, ‘You’ve got to get me over to the Yankees. Tell Cash, get me over to the Yankees. I want out of Oakland. I want to win a world championship,'” Cashman recalled this week, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “He was communicating that to a number of different people, and it was getting to us, that he wants to be a Yankee.”
Yet a year later — after the Yankees did not trade him amid his subpar 11-9, 4.90 ERA season in 2018 — was only when Gray came clean to Cashman, who confirmed Gray’s statement he never wanted to go to New York.
“He said, ‘Hey, can we talk?’” Cashman said. “We closed the door and he said, ‘I thought you were going to trade me.’ Publicly, I was trying to get pitching and bullpen [help]. Why would I trade a starter when we needed pitching badly?
“That’s when he told me he never wanted to be here — he hates New York, [that] this is the worst place [and] he just sits in his hotel room. He told me all this stuff and I said: ‘Well, it’s a little late now.’”
Cashman was caught off guard by Gray’s statements but ultimately did trade Gray to the Cincinnati Reds in the 2018 offseason, and Gray has been one of the best pitchers in baseball since that trade.
“Nothing I can do about it now,” Cashman said he told Gray. “I wish you’d told me beforehand. I wish we knew this before we ever tried to acquire you.”
Sonny Gray’s Agent Disputes Brian Cashman’s Statement
Cashman effectively confirmed Gray’s account of the details, but Gray’s agent Bo McKinnis took issue with Cashman’s side of the story, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic.
“In 2017, Sonny had no legal right to have input as to where he would be traded or if he would be traded,” McKinnis told The Ahletic. “As such, he made no statement that he did or did not want to be traded to any specific team, and thus, there was no statement that could have included a lie.
“Brian is trying to make people believe I told Sonny to, in Cashman’s words, ‘lie’ to the minor-league video guy to try to get Sonny to the Yankees — even though, per Cashman, Sonny did not want to be with the Yankees — to subsequently somehow help Sonny’s free agency. This makes zero sense. … Further, the words, ‘I want out of Oakland,’ have never been said by Sonny. He loved his time with the A’s.”
Brian Cashman Calls Out Sonny Gray After Former Yankees Pitcher Joins Red Sox