Some guys just fail under the bright lights. Giancarlo Stanton can hit bombs and win the MVP when no one is watching but things become very different when the games actually count. Oops, sorry I was supposed to talk about Sonny Gray. Talk about another guy who was fantastic playing in a small market but couldn’t throw up on himself more playing in New York. Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman confirmed that Gray has played his last game in a Yankees uniform.
Cashman said what would be best for all parties is trading Gray #Yankees
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) October 12, 2018
Priority number one in New York has to be rebuilding that starting rotation. George Steinbrenner had to be rolling in his grave when the Yankees threw out JA Happ as a Game One starter. The old Yankees are dead. At least, for now. The Sonny Gray trade never worked out but he should have been a number three or four starter on a really good team anyway. CC Sabathia and JA Happ are set to hit free agency so the Yankees have some work to do.
Gray, 28, never brought the same numbers from his Oakland tenure. Gray had an ERA of 3.42 during 114 games with the A’s. That ERA ballooned to 4.51 during 41 games in New York. A 4.90 ERA in 2018 was the nail on the coffin. After a brutal season, I have a hard time believing they can get anything of value for Gray on the trade market.
Gray was acquired from Oakland for Dustin Fowler, Jorge Mateo, and James Kaprielian. Thus far, those prospects haven’t done anything at the major league level. Mateo is the guy who has the best chance to pop as a real threat on the base paths. Kaprielian’s odds seem low after three separate Tommy John’s. Regardless, the Sonny Gray experience is a trade that Brian Cashman would like to have back.
