Reds hurler Sonny Gray isn’t bitter about his tenure with the Yankees, but that doesn’t mean he’s in denial about his struggles there. As Ken Davidoff of the New York Post writes, the 29-year-old All-Star values his time in New York precisely because of the difficulties he faced.
Gray says his experience with the Yanks was “absolutely” a positive one, even though he ended up being left off the postseason roster on the heels of a brutal regular season (4.90 ERA in 130 1/3 innings).
“I think everyone kind of knows that New York wasn’t a great fit for me, place for me, last year,” says Gray. “It just didn’t seem to work out, for whatever reason. But looking back, I wouldn’t change one thing about it.”
Quite often, parting transactions leave at least one involved party with hard feelings. Not so here. Gray facilitated the three-team deal that delivered him to Cincinnati by agreeing to a three-year extension (plus option). That contract now appears to be quite an appealing one for the Reds, who also acquired lefty Reiver Sanmartin in the deal. But it also wasn’t a bad bit of security for Gray to achieve at the time, particularly given his wavering output in two of the three preceding seasons.
On the other side of the swap, the Yanks got some nice parting gifts. Outfielder Josh Stowers came aboard when the club shipped former Reds prospect Shed Long straight to the Mariners, who have already received big-league contributions from Long. And the New York organization just used the comp pick it received from the Cincinnati club to select southpaw TJ Sikkema. (The original deal to acquire Gray from the A’s also hasn’t stung the Bronx Bombers — not yet, at least.)
Gray says he’s stronger for the difficult experience. He certainly has bounced back with aplomb, slinging 90 1/3 innings of 3.59 ERA ball with 10.3 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9. By most metrics, he’s much the same pitcher as before. But Gray seems to be squeezing more out of his tools, inducing much less hard contact (33.9% after surrendering 39.5% last year, per Statcast) and generating a career-high 27.8% K rate despite continuing to sport similar swinging-strike marks.
Class act.
He could have given the Yankees what they deserved by trashing them for taking a pitcher who was successful doing something that would never fit into their pitching system/philosophy and try to crow bar him into it.
Or he could have expressed remorse for his flippant attitude throughout his tenure and for an embarrassing lack of results for a team and fanbase that really did pay a premium for him and had good reason to expect more. But glad to know he wouldn’t change a thing and that you think he’s a class act.
Debatable if the team paid a premium for Gray but how did the fanbase pay anything, let alone a premium, for Gray?
Weird statement that losing the careers of two top 100 prospects and paying for tickets now and in the future to see a team that trades those minor league salaries for a multi-million dollar pitcher isn’t a premium cost to the fanbase.
This person, smh
Sonny Gray didn’t influence your ticket price one bit. If you think that those contracts the Yankees are paying are making your ticket price go up you’re sadly mistaken. The Yankees could have a 50 million dollar payroll and you wouldn’t see a dollar taken off your ticket price if the team played at this level. The Rays can’t go spend 200 million dollars and charge Yankees ticket prices. Just not how that works buddy.
If you want a cheap ticket I suggest you move to Tampa, Baltimore or Oakland and start rooting for one of those teams. The ticket price won’t ever be cheap for the Yankees.
2 of the prospects traded were recovering from major injuries. Like I said, Lost some potential talent but would not call it premium. Other Yanks prospects were ahead of Mateo and he was gonna be blocked and that was why he was included.
If you don’t think signing multi-million dollar players drives ticket prices via demand you need an economics lesson
Well you would not be the guy to listen to for an econ lesson. What you just said doesn’t make sense. Multi million dollar players do not drive demand for tickets. I’ve already told you this. The Rays could’ve went and signed Manny Machado and Bryce Harper this offseason and they still would not have been able to jack up ticket prices. You’re an absolute buffoon if you think that. Team Success, location, the and their market size all play the largest factor into your ticket price.
You live in the Yankees market. I’m terribly sorry your tickets are expensive but Sonny has nothing to do with that. If the Yankees had a minuscule payroll and a successful team you’d still pay $70 for your noseblood seat or whatever the hell they charge. It makes no difference whatsoever.
Think back for me when Yankees tickets were relatively cheap— you’ll realize it was during their down years. When the team struggles you’ll be able to grab some cheaper tickets on the secondary market. But there’s a limit to how cheap because you are in the NY market. You aren’t in TB or Baltimore.
But I’m sure Hal would love a fool like you who believes every player he signs drives the ticket price up though.
They got three high level prospects. Yeah they had injury issues but Gray was well off his peak. No one’s delivered yet for A’s but I felt at time that they got a haul.
Prices are ridiculous, agreed. But I get the 9 game package at Yankee stadium, 9th rowing in the upper deck behind home plate. $16 per ticket. It’s a pretty good deal.
Geez so much for the line that implied that these things usually leave hard feelings on one side but that isn’t the case for this trade.
I think we found the one side with those feelings….
Last I checked he complained about the Yankees asking him to throw more sliders….. and now he’s throwing even MORE sliders this year
Wouldn’t pay a buck to see them, and in my youth was a fan…lay the payroll differential on Bud “Bad for the Game” Siegal…who claimed that there is a good balance in baseball payroll wise…idiot…
Notice how hard it is for big pick ups such as Gray and Encarnacion to play under the pressure for the Yankees, while under the radar guys like Voit, Urshela, etc. have had career years here.
Same thing could be said about the Dodgers too. Darvish and Machado were both failures while they can drag guys out of their ass like Turner, Taylor and Muncy and turn them into valuable assets. Top markets man.
I wouldn’t read too much into that. Teams are always going to have players either fail or succeed, no matter the situation. It’s true, some players aren’t built for big markets. But I think it’s almost impossible to know just who those players might be. Gray might have been one. But he also might just have been a guy who struggled after his first time getting traded or simply had the worst stretch of his career.
Dude Encarnacion has only been with the Yankees for a New York minute. Slow down on the negative rhetoric for now.
Every player that transitions to a new team knowing they have a big role there will challenge a ton of pressure and likely struggle at first. Can’t say that about Encarnacion yet the dude has been one of the best homerun hitters this decade and played in front of those insane Toronto crowds. I can agree that it’s funny how the Dodgers and Yankees can make a star out of any minor league deal with invitation to spring training signings tho, which is the only reason they’re the top two teams imo.
As a Yankees fan I can narrow down why it didn’t work as I am sure a lot of fans can especially the ones that have his homerun balls as souvenirs.
Nice run on sentence bro.
I love it how you sent that grammatical criticism while not even using a complete sentence.
It was all that was needed.
Conserve words!
That’s your best comeback? Honestly, can’t make this stuff up. You made fun of someone for using a run on sentence, but then you did the same thing. Are you not able to come up with an intelligent comeback or form a coherent argument? And you still think “defending your boyfriend” is insulting?
Rhetorical questions, we know the answer to all three. You’re sad, bro. Or as you would say, “you’re sad bro”.
Glad Sonny was able to settle back into a smaller market team and produce. It’s so easy to criticize a guy who can’t perform in the bigs, especially while in NY. He’s a small town guy and clearly plays better in smaller cities.
He just wasn’t any good. He’s not the first nor will he be the last player who changes scenery and can’t adapt immediately. Playing in NY you need a thick skin and the ability to handle pressure. Some have thrived–Mike Mussina was always a professional. Some haven’t lived up to the hype–Javy Vasquez.
At least he wasn’t Carl Pavano.
Jarret Wright was awful … Kevin brown kinda stunk too. Weaver was embarrassingly bad . They give up Ted Lilly and a first round pick to get him too.
For all the betemit for swisher trades there is a pavano, Wright and Vasquez
There is, but on the swisher side of things there is also Granderson, Hicks, chad Green, Happ, Chapman, etc. all originally acquired via the trade.
This clown is a lamb. Four months ago he was gripping about throwing too much of a certain pitch.
Distance from a situation can make you feel differently about it and you can come to peace with it. Instead of focusing on the problems, he seems to have accepted it and feels glad that it happened because he landed in a situation where he is happy. Maybe all that gripping has helped him pitch better this year
And a good one that he has…and he’s an All Star now…so what’s you point?!
If you can’t stand the heat, get out of Hell’s Kitchen.
Few want to play there…the weak are lured by Satans dollars…please…when was the last time Hell won?!!
Glad Gray is happy to be a Red and doing well. It just didnt work out for him and the Yankees. He could’ve said many things in that article to malign the Yankees but he chose not to.
Kaprelian finally healthy, Mateo doing great in AAA, Fowler id say is trade bait for pitching, A’s have a good amount of outfielders so I dont think he’ll get a chance anytime soon. Fowler had his chance in 2018, Ramon laureano overtook him and the rest is history
I just listened to the R2C2 podcast (CC Sabathia and Ryan Ruocco) the other day, and their guest was Austin Romine. Romine made a comment that everyone loved Sonny Gray in the clubhouse, and praised his work ethic. So – it didn’t work out. Why people come to these threads to either bash Sonny or the Yankees, I’ll never understand. I’m a Yankee fan, and I appreciated him, but it wasn’t working. I’m glad he feels better about things now, and I wish him nothing but success – against the rest of the league, of course 🙂
TBH It’s media vitriol and Gray probably allowed the press to get under his skin some when last year’s article was written. The O’s Chris Davis started out the season 0-for-infinity and he never shied away from the camera. Was always upbeat. Couldn’t have handled it better. Too bad he stinks now.
Agree with u 100%. I heard romine on the podcast too. He was awesome
Sonny Gray is a loser who is “comfortable” performing for losing teams in one-Starbucks towns like Oakland and Cincinnati. Given an opportunity to perform on the biggest stage in the largest media market in the world, he failed miserably—as did other losers before him like Carl Pavano, Andy Hawkins, Kenny Rogers to name just three.
Good riddance Gray, hope you enjoy wasting your talent and career while performing in near anonymity on bad teams playing before sparse crowds. Hope you enjoy that newfound “comfort” while watching your former Yankees teammates storm to franchise championship number 28, this season. Glad the door didn’t hit you in the posterior while on the way out.
Oh just shut up.
You sound way too butt hurt about this man. What did this man do to you lol
You need to stop getting info from the national enquirer. Oakland has 17 star bucks and cincinatti has 29
I wish Cincinnati only had 1 Starbucks, or would it be Starbuck… Anyway funny intro to your nonsensical statement.
Thanks. So is it Pet smart or Petsmart ?
Starbucks sucks and so does anyone who would pay that much for Foo Foo coffee…and Gray will bank over 30 mill the next 3 seasons, how much will you…Oh, right…you don’t play the game…
Reminds me a lot of Carl Pavano. Pavano was never a HOF type pitcher, but he was a very good, sometimes great pitcher with the Marlins that absolutely was horrid in New York through performance and injuries. He recovered and had a few good years in Minnesota after his bad Yankees run. Hopefully Gray can pull it together to resume a very respectable career.
Reading comments sometimes is like watching a bunch of 5 year olds fighting.
sez you!!!!
Cant we all just get along?
He pitched so scared when he was here. Nice guy with talent indeed but he isn’t cut out for this type of market
NY fans are some of the most absurd fans out there. If they fail with the Yankees it’s because they can’t handle the pressure. Sometimes organizations fail the players. Plenty of FA’s go to other non Yankee teams and fail. It happens in every sport, in every job in fact. I am not saying a larger market like NY can’t have an influence on a players performance, but to use that as the default reason why a player fails is laughable.
I think the mistake made was that cashman focused on age, affordability, and cost controlled years over make-up and fit. Hard to blame a guy who didn’t ask to come to NY and then was seemingly told to do things differently than he had. I know i’m a broken record but its another blight in the genius’ SP mark.
A lot of people refuse to look past the “he couldn’t handle NY” argument, and in doing so, they miss the main statistical problem that most likely led to his demise in NY.
I know Sonny said it was his slider that caused problems, but if you look at the data, it’s clear that the Yankee’s penchant for limiting 4-seam fastballs really hurt Sonny
He threw his cutter over 20% of the time in 2018, and he never really used it in any other season in his career (highest % otherwise was 3.5%). In doing so, he took his 4-seam usage down from 55-60% to 35%.
His 2018 cutter also had by FAR the worst pitch value per 100 pitches in his career at -4.4, which is absurdly awful. The Yankees, who are known to have a philosophy of not letting their guys throw many 4-seamers, clearly forced Sonny to pitch in a way that simply doesn’t work for him.
It’s not that it’s a bad strategy that the Yankees employ, and it’s worked for many guys. That said, it’s not for everyone, and it hurt Sonny.
Gray is a breath of fresh air among so many self-centered professionals.