Yankees Rumors: Six teams are interested in trading for Sonny Gray

Throughout the offseason, the Yankees have been looking for the perfect deal to trade starter Sonny Gray and according to reports, talks are starting to heat up again.

The odds of a Gray trade lost some momentum in late December when the Yankees announced that veteran starter CC Sabathia underwent heart surgery. At the time the Yanks weren’t entirely sure if CC would be ready for spring training so it made sense for them to consider holding onto Gray in the event that CC wouldn’t be able to start the season in the rotation.

However, news broke last week that CC has been cleared to begin working out to prepare for what is set to be his 19th and final big league season. He’s expected to make a full recovery and should be on the Yankees 25-man Opening Day roster.

Although I’m sure there’s still some concern regarding CC’s health moving forward the talks of a potential Gray trade have ramped up once again according to Jon Heyman on Fancred Sports.

Earlier this offseason there were reports that as many as 11 teams had shown interest in trading for Gray so it’s no surprise to see there’s still plenty of teams who want him. Gray has been able to stay healthy over the past two seasons and even though GM Brian Cashman believes he still has the tools to be successful it’s clear he needs a change of scenery. He was just never able to find any consistency pitching for the Yanks over the past season and a half, especially in the Bronx where he posted an ERA of 6.98 in 2018.

The A’s, Reds, Brewers, and Padres had been linked to Gray prior to Heyman’s report, but this is the first I’ve read about the Braves and Mariners being in on the 29-year-old right-hander. The Yankees have been looking for the perfect return for Gray so as more teams continue to show interest it should only increase the likelihood that he’ll be moved sometime soon.

Heyman also wrote in a separate tweet over the weekend that the Yankees are interested in acquiring upper-level pitching prospects in a potential trade for Gray. That’s something the Reds have, although they’re young arms aren’t considered elite-level prospects like the ones the Padres and Braves possess who are ranked as some of the best in all of baseball. I’m sure those clubs have been asked by the Yanks about their top prospects but I doubt either team would be willing to trade an elite level arm for Gray who is in the last year of his contract.

As for the A’s, Mariners and Brewers they don’t have much to offer when it comes to upper-level pitching prospects. So unless the Yanks shift their focus to position players I can’t see any of those teams being a good match. If I had to guess the most likely landing spot for Gray it would be Cincinnati. They’ve been the main team linked to acquiring him all offseason and earlier this winter they hired Derek Johnson, Gray’s former college pitching coach at Vanderbilt.

We still have about a month to go before Spring Training but with talks ramping up, it’s looking more likely that we won’t see Gray at Yankees camp when pitchers and catchers report to Tampa on February 13th. Now it’s just up to Brian Cashman to find the best deal.