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Phillies Among Teams Showing Interest In Sonny Gray

By Steve Adams | November 8, 2023 at 1:50pm CDT

The Phillies are among the teams with interest in free agent right-hander Sonny Gray, tweets Jon Morosi of MLB.com. The Phils have obvious interest in retaining their own top free agent starter, Aaron Nola, and would become a more aggressive suitor for Gray if Nola ultimately lands elsewhere, per the report. As Morosi further points out, there’s a natural Phillies/Gray connection, as Philadelphia pitching coach Caleb Cotham worked with Gray in Cincinnati and was also a college teammate of Gray at Vanderbilt. Beyond that, while Gray’s relatively brief stint with the Yankees didn’t go well, it’s perhaps worth pointing out that his more successful 2017 output in the Bronx overlapped with current Phillies manager Rob Thomson’s final year as bench coach there.

Gray, who turned 34 yesterday, just wrapped up one of the best seasons of his career, tossing 184 frames of 2.79 ERA ball for the AL Central-winning Twins. Gray added a sharp five innings of shutout ball in the AL Wild Card round, pushing the Twins to a series victory over the Blue Jays, though he faltered against the Astros in the ALDS when he allowed four runs in the first inning of his start there (before recovering, to an extent, to last four innings on the day). He’s already been named an AL Cy Young finalist, although it’s widely expected that he’ll be a runner-up to frontrunner Gerrit Cole for the award.

Minnesota extended a qualifying offer to Gray, though given his track record and a top-three finish in AL Cy Young voting, he’s all but a lock to turn that down in favor of testing the open market. Gray previously and candidly acknowledged that “money is not the ultimate factor for me” in free agency and professed his affinity for pitching in the Twin Cities, but it’d nevertheless be a shock to see him accept that one-year offer when a lucrative multi-year deal awaits him in free agency. Chris Bassitt, who inked a three-year, $63MM deal with Toronto after rejecting a qualifying offer at the same age last offseason, represents something of a floor for Gray in free agency.

While some teams balk at signing free agents who’ve rejected qualifying offers — doing so requires forfeitures in the draft and international free agency — the Phillies don’t fall into that camp. Philadelphia owner John Middleton has been willing to accept that burden on a near-annual basis, in fact. The Phils have forfeited draft picks and international money to sign each of Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos, Bryce Harper and Jake Arrieta. And while they technically didn’t forfeit a pick to sign J.T. Realmuto, they’d have received a comp pick had he left the team to sign elsewhere, but the Phils re-upped with him on a five-year pact.

Given that history, there’s little reason to think the Phillies wouldn’t be willing to take a similar approach with Gray. It’s not clear whether they’d wait for Nola to actually commit to another team before pursuing alternatives, but president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is known for generally acting quickly and rather decisively on the market. If the Phils get the sense that the Nola bidding will extend beyond their comfort zone, it’s at least feasible they could pivot to an alternative plan before he actually signs a contract — be that alternative Gray or one of the many other veteran starters on the market (e.g. Eduardo Rodriguez, Jordan Montgomery, Blake Snell).

The Phillies currently have a projected payroll around $214MM, per Roster Resource, which is a ways shy of last year’s $245MM mark. Signing Gray, retaining Nola or adding any of the prominent free-agent alternatives would likely thrust the Phils right back into luxury tax territory, but they were willing to cross that bridge in each of the past two seasons.

Whether it’s Nola, Gray or another outside acquisition, the Phillies are all but guaranteed to bring in some rotation help this winter. As it stands, their rotation group consists of Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suarez, Taijuan Walker and Cristopher Sanchez. Top prospects Mick Abel and Griff McGarry aren’t all that far from MLB readiness, but a team with World Series aspirations will surely seek more certainty than that. Fellow top prospect Andrew Painter underwent Tommy John surgery in July, removing him as a near-term option. Nick Nelson, Dylan Covey and recent waiver claim Josh Fleming are all depth candidates, but it’s clear that someone more stable will be brought in.

As with any report of this nature, it bears emphasizing that Gray very likely is not the sole alternative to Nola the Phillies will consider. In all likelihood, Dombrowski, GM Sam Fuld and the rest of the front office will engage with the representatives for all top-tier and mid-tier starters, both to gauge expectations and to have contingencies in place if their preferred plans of attack don’t pan out. But Gray does at least have some personal ties to members of the Phillies’ staff, and the team has shown a repeated willingness to spend at high levels to sign qualified free agents in addition to a willingness to incur luxury tax penalties.

All of that context is important in their rotation pursuits. Philadelphia will likely be tied to Montgomery and others as well before too long, and they’ll surely be prominent players through the bulk, if not the entirety, of Nola’s own foray into the open market.

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View Comments (37)
Post a Comment

37 Comments

  1. The Saber-toothed Superfife

    2 years ago

    Dombrowski is NEVER one to sit on his laurels, is he?

    Reply
  2. Butter Biscuits

    2 years ago

    Would be a good fit in the rotation

    1
    Reply
    • Cora the Destroya

      2 years ago

      Not if he’s replacing Nola

      Reply
  3. RunDMC

    2 years ago

    “Philadelphia pitching coach” — you can say his name…Robert Paulson — err — Caleb Cotham.

    2
    Reply
  4. acoss13

    2 years ago

    I don’t want to sound mean, but if Sonny Gray couldn’t handle the pressure with the Yankees, how is he going to handle the pressure from the Phillies. Maybe he was too young at the time and age has given him confidence but, that’s a factor. Just my two cents.

    4
    Reply
    • VonPurpleHayes

      2 years ago

      The pressure of NY is exaggerated. Sonny Gray just had some off years. The world is a smaller place now. The difference between a small market and a large market isn’t as significant as it used to be. But, to your point, Gray stunk in NY. He has the potential to stink again. Like Yankee stadium, CBP is homerun friendly. Tough on pitchers, although it’s harder to hit a ball in the gap.

      5
      Reply
      • acoss13

        2 years ago

        That’s true you make a fair point about the homer-friendly Yankee stadium and Citizens Bank Park. Not a dig at the Phillies fanbase but you guys can be quite vocal, every fanbase is vocal, but you guys take it up a notch not unlike the Red Sox fanbase. Comparatively, the fanbase and media is way more subdued in Minnesota than the Phillies.

        1
        Reply
        • A'sfaninLondonUK

          2 years ago

          @acoss @von purple

          Sonny Gray went eight innings conceding no runs against Verlander as a 23 year old rookie in the ALDS in 2013.

          I wouldn’t worry about his minerals.

          He’ll lose games, he is a #2 not an ace, but half an average season with the Yankees hasn’t bothered him has it?

          He’d be a great addition to the Phillies because he’ll pitch 30 games, concede maybe 75 runs and leave the rest to the batters. But because he turns up, does his job, and f***s off home, without blowing his own numbers, he seems under-rated…

          1
          Reply
      • Heinouanus

        2 years ago

        He had some of his best seasons in a matchstick box of a stadium in cincinnati. Smallest ballpark in mlb, period and he put up a 2.84 era and 3.5 era his two years there. NY had him throwing a slider instead of his BEAUTIFUL curve ball. The results there were based on a pitching coach who refused to let a pitcher do what theyre comfortable with and relying way too much in analytics.

        1
        Reply
    • JackStrawb

      1 year ago

      This nonsense again? Did Gray throw to a 3.72 ERA when he first came to the Yankees in 2017 because he ‘couldn’t handle the pressure’?

      Yeah, that must have been it. Sigh.

      Reply
  5. VonPurpleHayes

    2 years ago

    Need to do better than that if you’re losing Nola.

    4
    Reply
    • acoss13

      2 years ago

      Nola is a guy for sure, he’s durable and he’s got decent numbers.

      2
      Reply
    • Captain Dunsel

      2 years ago

      I would much prefer Yamamoto. Give Nola their best offer with a 30 day time limit. If he walks pay whatever it takes to convince Yamamoto to trade sushi for cheesesteaks.

      2
      Reply
    • andymeyer

      2 years ago

      If Nola signs elsewhere, I could see them trading for a Glasnow or Bieber

      Reply
  6. Dirkdiggler2398

    2 years ago

    This is kinda what I’m hoping I’d rather use the money to sign both Sonny gray and Eduardo Rodriguez opposed to signing just nola or snell for the same amount

    2
    Reply
    • philliesfan215

      2 years ago

      I want nothing to do with Erod

      1
      Reply
    • Cora the Destroya

      2 years ago

      Neither of those are as good as Nola

      Reply
      • DarkSide830

        2 years ago

        And they wouldn’t sign both even if they didn’t get one of the bigger names.

        Reply
      • Mac Attack

        1 year ago

        Wheeler, Nola is the best 1,2 in baseball. And I hate the Phillies

        Reply
        • Cora the Destroya

          1 year ago

          But that all they really have. Wheeler is aging and who knows if Nola stays or not

          Reply
        • VonPurpleHayes

          1 year ago

          Another bad take. Suarez. Sanchez. Walker. I’d take that 1-5 over most.

          1
          Reply
        • Cora the Destroya

          1 year ago

          Then that’s your take and call it bad for me. I wouldn’t take any one of those starters as my 1 or 2. 3 or beyond maybe, but not 1 through 3. Enjoy the higher FIP as all are either in the very high 3’s or 4’s. Decent but nothing compared to aces at the top

          Reply
  7. TrillionaireTeamOperator

    2 years ago

    I have had a weird feeling that Sonny Gray will be the first ‘major’ free agent to come off the board and sign somewhere, even before Ohtani or others, because his market seems so straightforward (4 years at around $20M-$23M AAV) and people seem to agree he will go to a mid-market east coast team like the Phillies or the Braves.

    Reply
  8. User 1939973770

    2 years ago

    Nola probably fits in nicely between Darvish’ 6/108 and Cole’s 9/324 … probably 7 years ~200 million

    Reply
  9. Kruk's Beer League

    2 years ago

    If they go this route, Montgomery actually feels like a better fit for Philly than both Gray and Snell.

    Gray got lit up in a similar environment. And Snell playing tight rope in terms of walks might be OK in Tampa and San Diego. But could backfire horribly in the less spacious Citizen’s Bank Park.

    Montgomery was money in the postseason. And pitched for both the Yankees and Cardinals successfully. Neither of which are low pressure gigs.

    2
    Reply
    • Cora the Destroya

      2 years ago

      Ol’ 5 inning Snell

      Reply
  10. nosake

    2 years ago

    Hope Gray stays with the Twins. Likewise, I hope Nola stays with the Phillies.

    1
    Reply
  11. mrflimflam

    2 years ago

    Gray will end up with either of the Reds, the Cardinals, or the Braves. His home is near Nashville, and I truly believe he wants to play near his home. I also believe he would prefer to play in a market that is smaller with less media pressure.

    2
    Reply
    • HBan22

      2 years ago

      I agree with this take. Gray has openly expressed a desire to pitch for a team that’s closer to his home, and has stated that money isn’t necessarily his number one priority. It seems like he’s more comfortable pitching for smaller market teams, as well. I think there is a very real chance that he returns to the Reds. It makes sense as a match in several aspects.

      2
      Reply
    • DarkSide830

      2 years ago

      I think the O’s get him actually.

      Reply
  12. User 4014041831

    2 years ago

    I think the real issue with Sonny Gray while he was with the NYY was they tried to change his pitch mix to something he wasn’t comfortable with and didn’t adapt as well. IMHO I don’t believe pressure of NY was the main issue.
    Some pitching coaches are able to get better results out of some pitchers
    Pitcher vs Hitter friendly stadiums is definitely something to be concerned about but Sonny Gray is a reliable no nonsense solid #2/3 starter without any real baggage ego issues. I don’t believe he has ever had TJ surgery also.

    Nola is still a solid #2/3 but he might be on the decline and will cost more $ than Gray. PHI might not want to match Nolas price if he is looking for the highest offer (even with an expected contender) like StL, AZ

    3
    Reply
    • Eatdust666

      2 years ago

      Just like how they tried to make Jordan Montgomery stop throwing the curveball, which is literally his best pitch and make him throw the cutter instead.

      1
      Reply
    • User 4014041831

      2 years ago

      BAL decided NOT to pay the cost in prospects this postseason to strengthen their rotation and they crashed and burned.. This was probably the best decision for their long term future but If they are smart and serious about a World Series they should sign 2 solid B type starting pitchers.
      Either Nola or Gray would qualify

      Doesn’t the owner Angelos have a reputation for being kind of cheap.

      Gibson wasn’t exciting but BAL got their moneys worth out of him.

      Reply
      • Eatdust666

        2 years ago

        Yes he does, but no one is has a stronger reputation of being cheap than Bob Nutting when it comes to MLB owners.

        Reply
  13. unpaidobserver

    2 years ago

    Did Sonny Gray write this article?

    1
    Reply
  14. DynamiteAdams

    2 years ago

    I don’t like Gray for the Phillies

    Reply
  15. Phillls

    1 year ago

    34 year old Sonny Gray, lol. Sounds like another Arietta. You would think the Phillies would have learned from that experience

    Reply

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