On July 31, 2017, the Yankees sent three solid prospects to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Sonny Gray, who was expected to immediately stabilize New York’s starting rotation.
At the time, it seemed like a smart deal for the Yankees, who were acquiring a formidable right-hander who had been an All-Star in 2015. But it never worked out that way. Instead, by early August of last season, a struggling Gray had been demoted to the bullpen. And when the postseason arrived, Gray was left off the team’s roster for both rounds. Not much later, General Manager Brian Cashman made it clear that he was ready to trade Gray elsewhere.
On Monday evening, Cashman did just that. The Yankees announced that they had sent Gray and a minor league pitcher to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for a second-base prospect, Shed Long, and a draft pick. In a subsequent trade, the Yankees then shipped Long to Seattle in exchange for the outfielder Josh Stowers, who was rated the Mariners’ 10th-best prospect.
The change of scenery could benefit Gray, who is 29. So might his reunion with Derek Johnson, who was his pitching coach at Vanderbilt University and has now taken on the same role with the Reds.
Gray went 11-9 for the Yankees in 2018, but the winning record was covering up an ugly earned run average of 4.90, which pointed to his ongoing frustrations on the mound. To outside observers it appeared he never found a comfort zone in the Bronx.
As a condition of the trade, Gray agreed to a three-year, $30.5-million contract extension with the Reds. He was already due $7.5 million in 2019 in what would have been his final season before free agency. In all, he is now guaranteed $38 million over the next four seasons, and his contract also calls for a $12 million club option for the 2023 season.
The trade for Gray is the latest off-season move by the Reds as they attempt to shift from rebuilding to relevancy. Other veterans the Reds have acquired this winter include the pitchers Tanner Roark and Alex Wood and the outfielders Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig.
As for the Yankees, they lose pitching depth with Gray’s departure, but that did not seem much of an issue for Cashman. At present, the 2019 Yankees rotation will feature Masahiro Tanaka; Luis Severino; C.C. Sabathia, who had a minor heart operation last month but has since been cleared for baseball activities; James Paxton, who was acquired in a trade with Seattle earlier this winter; and J.A. Happ, who was re-signed to a two year $34-million contract last month. Behind them, will be, among others, Domingo German, Luis Cessa and Jonathan Loaisiga.
Gray posted a respectable 3.17 E.R.A. in 71 innings on the road last season, in contrast to a miserable 6.98 mark in nearly 59 innings at home. That suggests that Gray might indeed do better in Cincinnati, where the media scrutiny will also be less intense than in New York. Then again, the Reds’ stadium, the Great American Ball Park, is a band box, which actually factored into the Reds’ thinking in signing Gray to an extension.
The Reds believe their park’s small dimensions make it difficult for the team to attract talented pitchers. In Gray, the Reds saw an opportunity to lock up a veteran starter who has had previous success and to do so at a reasonable rate. If Johnson, who helped turn Gray into one of the most accomplished pitchers in Vanderbilt history, can get Gray back on track in 2019, the Reds can feel good about the deal.
Tyler Kepner contributed reporting.
Follow James Wagner on Twitter: @ByJamesWagner.
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