Brian Cashman: Yankees Intend to Trade Sonny Gray at Some Point in Future

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman made his team's intentions regarding right-handed pitcher Sonny Gray clear in a Friday chat with reporters.

"Our intention is to move Sonny Gray and relocate him when we get the proper return, in our estimation," he said. "It'll happen this winter, it'll happen in the spring or it'll happen sometime during the season. The CC circumstance certainly has given us pause, because we want to make sure that we're covered and protected."

"The CC circumstance" references starting pitcher CC Sabathia, who is returning to the Bronx for his 11th season in Yankee pinstripes after a significant health scare in December.

Per MLB.com's Bryan Hoch, the 38-year-old "had a stent inserted on Dec. 11 after a blockage was found in an artery leading to the hurler's heart." Thankfully, the Yankees have faith Sabathia will be well enough to go for spring training.

Cashman provided further comments on Sabathia's condition and 2019 outlook relative to any pending Gray deal:

"The CC thing, when it developed, it slowed down my conversations because we had to see how this played out first. Once he has these follow-up appointments, I'll be in a much better position to fully engage moving forward on the Sonny Gray conversations we've had, or continue to slow-walk it while we make sure that CC is taken care of health-wise."

Gray went 11-9 with a 4.90 ERA in 30 appearances last season. He was pulled from the starting rotation in August after allowing seven earned runs in 2.2 innings against the Baltimore Orioles.

The Yankees acquired Gray in a 2017 midseason trade with the Oakland Athletics in exchange for a package that included former first-round pick James Kaprelian, a right-handed pitcher. Gray's Oakland success (3.42 ERA in five years) didn't translate to the Bronx, however. 

He did begin his Bronx tenure well, posting a 2.66 ERA and striking out 49 batters in 50.2 innings over eight starts.

But Gray gave up 12 earned runs in his last three regular-season outings and allowed three earned runs in 3.1 innings against the Cleveland Indians in his only playoff start.

At this point, it's clear that the Yankees and Gray aren't a match. Sheryl Ring of FanGraphs offered an explanation in April of 2018:

"In September and October 2017, Gray began using the no-fastballs approach the Yankees are now making famous. By October, Gray's four-seamer usage was down to 25%, his cutter usage up to 15%. Gray posted a 5.79 FIP and 4.34 xFIP, and his HR/9 spiked all the way to 2.29 per nine.

"So far in 2018, Gray's using his fastball and sinker less than 50% of the time combined, the first time he's ever done that. He's throwing his so-called "secondary" pitches at a career-high rate. The results, as noted, have been subpar."

The results were still poor as the season went on, and Gray's ground-ball rate was a career-low 50.0 percent, according to FanGraphs. His hard-hit rate of 35.5 percent was a career-high.

Those figures were at 52.7 and 25.1 percent in 2015, respectively.

Gray is capable of far more success than what has been exhibited in the past two seasons, as evidenced by his 2015 All-Star campaign and top-three American League Cy Young finish (14-7, 2.73 ERA).

However, any resurgence Gray could enjoy in 2019 will likely be elsewhere.