Sonny Gray is open to waiving his no-trade clause amid his first season with the Boston Red Sox (h/t Tim Healey of the Boston Globe). And the team should be quick to oblige, only because they would actually be doing him a favor.
“If someone came to me from the Red Sox and made a decision that that’s the direction that this team was going to go, I would be open for a conversation,” Gray told the Globe. “Whatever happens from then, only time will tell. But I would be open for a conversation.”
The Red Sox acquired Gray from the St. Louis Cardinals in the offseason for Brandon Clarke and Richard Fitts, and it's worked out in their favor.
During his first season in Boston, Gray is 8-1 (his .889 win-loss record leads the AL, which is impressive considering that the team is just 31-44 overall) and has a 3.12 ERA with a 1.183 WHIP in 69.1 innings pitched.
The 36-year-old is putting together another All-Star-caliber campaign, but most of it is for nothing because of how poorly the Red Sox have played all season long.
Ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline, Boston should be sellers, and moving on from Gray should be a no-brainer.
The Red Sox already have Sonny Gray's replacement
Even though trading Gray would give him an opportunity to pitch for a contending team this season, it could also help the Red Sox out directly.
There are a ton of reasons to bash the Red Sox and how they have played this season, but that is mostly because of their inconsistent and powerless offense. Their pitching has actually been pretty solid this season, and that's even with the absence of Garrett Crochet (who has been out of action since Apr. 25 due to a lat/shoulder injury).
Boston ranks eighth in the majors in team ERA (3.85), tied for fifth in shutouts (7 - Los Angeles Angels and Milwaukee Brewers), and 11th in WHIP (1.26), according to MLB.com.
The Red Sox have gotten good play from Ranger Suarez, Payton Tolle, and Connelly Early, but trading Gray would also allow them to give Jake Bennett a full-time spot in the rotation.
Bennett has already made four starts for Boston this season, recording a 4.79 ERA and a 1.258 WHIP in 20.2 innings pitched (he is also 1-3 in those games, but includes a 3-0 loss against the Toronto Blue Jays, when he only surrendered two earned runs in 5.1 innings).
The 25-year-old has a lot of talent, and trading Gray would give him an opportunity to showcase what he has for the rest of the season and beyond.
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