Yankees: Why the Sonny Gray trade to the Reds hasn’t been finalized yet

Over the weekend the Yankees reportedly agreed to a trade that would send Sonny Gray to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for two prospects and a draft pick. However, the deal hasn’t been finalized yet because the Reds are in talks with Gray about a possible extension.

The Yankees have been trying to trade Gray all offseason and the Reds have been rumored as the favorites to land him throughout the entire process. Part of the reason why is that Derek Johnson, Gray’s college pitching coach at Vanderbilt, was hired by the Reds so he might be able to help him turn things around and get his career back on track.

In return for Gray, the Yankees would acquire 2B Shed Long, the Reds 7th best prospect according to MLB Pipeline along with a draft pick and possibly another lower-tier minor leaguer.

This would be a very solid return for the Yanks considering how much Gray struggled in pinstripes after they acquired him before the trade deadline in 2017. Long is a 23-year old left-handed hitter with pop who spent all of last season at AA so if the trade gets done he should make the leap to Triple-A Scranton to start the season. The draft pick would be in the 35 to 40 range so that’s another plus for the Yanks.

As I mentioned earlier there’s a chance this deal doesn’t get done if the Reds and Gray can’t agree on an extension. Gray is set to be a free agent after next season and the Reds want starters who they’d have under team control for multiple years. The two sides had a 72-hour negotiation window that ends later today and if it doesn’t get done the Yankees could always keep him and trade him somewhere else.

Based on the tweet seen above the Yankees shouldn’t have much of a problem finding another home for Gray if the trade with Cincinnati falls through. However, considering the trade was already agreed upon in principle I’m sure the Yanks are hoping that Gray signs the extension because this was probably the best offer they had on the table.

Whether or not Gray signs an extension is tough to predict for a couple of reasons. The Reds play in what is known as a notorious hitter’s ballpark that yields a ton of home runs. That’s part of the reason why the Reds have such trouble attracting free agent starters. We all know how much Gray struggled pitching at Yankee Stadium which is another ballpark that yields a lot of offense so that might be a concern for him.

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There’s also the thought that if Gray can, in fact, turn things around and have a big bounce-back season he should be in line for a nice payday next winter. Despite his struggles with the Yanks Gray is only 29 years old and still has the stuff to be a successful big league starter.

Obviously, he needs a change of scenery away from New York for that to happen. Although, I’m not sure Cincinnati is the best place for him to rebuild his value in a contract season.

It’s unclear what the Reds would offer Gray in a potential extension, but if he has the desire to bet on himself and see if he can make more as a free agent I wouldn’t blame him.