Yankees Rumors: Sherman reporting team very close on Gray

The Yankees, according to Joel Sherman and other sources, are close to landing the deal that would bring the Oakland ace to the Bronx. Here’s the latest.

The Yankees, according to sources, and in particular, Joel Sherman of the NY Post, are emerging as the favorite among the many teams in pursuit of Oakland right-hander, Sonny Gray.

The thinking goes that other suitors for Gray’s services are moving in another direction to fill the same need for a starter or, are working to fill other holes on their roster, leaving some wiggle room for the Yankees to squeeze through.

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For example, Sherman suggests that one factor working in favor of the Yankees is that some believe the Astros to be the team most willing to roll the dice on Orioles’ closer, Zach Britton, forcing their attention away from Gray.

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There has been no mention of the prospects the Yankees are willing to include in a deal for Gray, but reports indicate that the A’s have a particular interest in Estevan Florial, as reported on yesterday by YGY writer, Mike Calendrillo.

Florial is currently playing high A-ball for the Yankees and has caught the attention of quite a few scouts as the training deadline nears.

The Yankees have already demonstrated a willingness to deal one of their top prospects in Blake Rutherford, but only because he is two and possibly even three years away from the major leagues. Florial might easily slide into that same category.

Cashman, in fact, appears to have drawn an invisible line in the sand saying he will not deal any of the Yankees high ranked prospects who will be ready to join the team next season, or at the latest, in 2019.

These would include names like Jorge Mateo, Chance Adams, James Kaprielian, and Justus Sheffield. But it all depends on how badly the Yankees want Gray, how much Billy Beane pushes Cashman, and to what degree the Yankees have a clear, though narrow, view of the road and other teams in the mix.

MLB Trade Rumors adds another spin reporting

Though the Yankees are the perceived front-runner, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets that both the Nationals and Mariners have some interest in Gray, though the extent of that interest isn’t clear. MLB Network’s Ken Rosenthal writes that the Mariners and A’s haven’t touched base on Gray in about a week, though multiple rivals from around the game believe that ever-active GM Jerry Dipoto will find a way to make a competitive bid despite a thin farm system.

Meanwhile, there are no other reports indicating the Yankees as the frontrunner in any other deals at the moment.

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But as we know, that could change before the ink (if there was such a thing as ink anymore) was dry in this report.

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