The long courtship between the New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics regarding A’s pitcher Sonny Gray may finally be coming to some sort of conclusion.
While other teams such as the Atlanta Braves have jumped into the mix to acquire the front-line starter, it appears that the Yankees offer the A’s the best trade return.
According to FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman, the Braves can offer great pitching prospects to Oakland but the Yankees are more equipped to match the A’s positional needs such as centerfield.
Heyman also noted that the Milwaukee Brewers could jump back in the mix and that Gray “has no qualms about going to yanks (or anywhere else). but brewers would be special.”
Heyman added that the Chicago Cubs are another team interested in Gray but Oaklan’s asking price is considered “too steep” for their liking.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that an “involved person says Yankees have ‘pieces to make it work’.
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reported that “Yankees and Athletics are ‘close enough to get over the hump’ today on a Gray deal, says source. Still gonna take some compromise.”
WFAN’s Sweeny Murti says that Oakland has come off it’s demands for a “Frazier/Torress package” and has asked for “Florial/Mateo package + more” stating “Yankees will not make that deal either.”
Gray, 27, is 6-5 with a 3.43 ERA and 1.18 WHIP this season.
It looks like this deal will come down to the wire.