In an underwhelming American League where only five teams have winning records as of June 19, the Boston Red Sox long remained optimistic that they would be able to turn their season around. But after being swept by the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park, the truth hit everyone all at once.
Multiple veteran Red Sox addressed media after their June 18 loss and admitted what leadership had been afraid to say — Boston is so bad it may be unsalvageable. Sonny Gray's comments hit particularly hard after he received insufficient run support (yet again) and as trade deadline rumors fly (subscription required).
“I can’t speak on behalf of the group, but I can speak on behalf of myself. It’s very frustrating,” Gray said. “We’re not good. We’re just not a good team right now. That’s just a fact.”
The Red Sox over the offseason acquired Gray from the St. Louis Cardinals in a win-now move. Since Gray's contract expires at the end of the year (with a mutual option for 2027), he's been a fixture in trade deadline proposals around the league.
Sonny Gray's comments following Red Sox's June 18 loss suggest he's as good as gone after the trade deadline
Gray has posted a 3.12 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 55 strikeouts over 69.1 innings pitched for Boston. He started the season slow on the strike-throwing front but he's found his usual self again — 40 of his 55 punchouts have come over his last seven starts.
Gray has been linked to many clubs in need of starting pitching, including the Braves, Padres, Cubs, Brewers and White Sox. He has a full no-trade clause, which he would have to waive to be sent out of Boston. Based on his June 18 postgame quote, he'll have no issue doing so.
A recent article by Mark Feinsand of MLB.com raised some questions about Gray's value on the deadline market, including a quote from a league executive that suggests his "value will be limited by his salary." Gray does represent a $21 million CBT hit this year, but the Cardinals paid $11 million of his salary to send him to Boston. The financial burden on any team that takes him on will be much lower, less than $10 million.
Gray is an easy candidate for the Red Sox to part with at the deadline — not only would he surely opt out of his contract for 2027 if it came to staying another year in the dysfunctional Red Sox organization, Boston has enough pitching depth to move on quickly. If he continues the upward trajectory he's had since his early May return from the injured list, the Red Sox should be able to get a nice return for him.
Add us as a preferred source on Google