The baseball world has known for months that the Yankees were attempting to unload Sonny Gray, and it appears it may finally happen.
A day after Fancred reported the Yankees are "close" to trading the right-hander, The Athletic said Friday the Reds are "making progress" in their pursuit of Gray.
Cincinnati has already shored up its rotation this offseason by acquiring Tanner Roark from the Nationals and Alex Wood from the Dodgers (along with outfielders Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp).
Gray, 29, had a rough first full season in New York in 2018 after coming over in a deadline deal with the Athletics the previous summer. Manager Aaron Boone dropped him from the rotation at the beginning of August when Gray's ERA stood at 5.56. He made only nine appearances the rest of the season.
The Yankees have no plans to return him to the rotation for 2019, and general manager Brian Cashman has said publicly throughout the offseason that Gray is available.
"It hasn't worked out thus far," Cashman told reporters at an end-of-season news conference (via MLB.com). "I think he's extremely talented. I think that we'll enter the winter, unfortunately, open-minded to a relocation. Probably, if he can maximize his abilities, it will more likely be best somewhere else. But then it comes down to the final decision of the price, in terms of trade acquisition and matching up with somebody. If we match up, then I think, yeah, it's probably best to try this somewhere else."
The Reds would be a logical bounceback spot for Gray, as the team has hired his former pitching coach at Vanderbilt, Derek Johnson, to fill the same role in Cincinnati.
Fancred's report added that teams are also asking the Yankees about relievers Tommy Kahnle and Jonathan Holder, who could be available now that New York has re-signed Zach Britton and added Adam Ottavino to the bullpen.
