The Boston Red Sox acquired Sonny Gray from the St. Louis Cardinals last offseason, and he turned out to be a tremendous addition.
He posted a 2.72 ERA in 29 starts and should have been an All-Star. The Red Sox declined his mutual option, and he is now on the open market. There are plenty of teams that have a more desperate need for starting pitching than the Red Sox and could be willing to outbid them for Gray.
Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly predicted Gray would sign with the Atlanta Braves.
"A Tennessee native, Gray feels like a Brave," wrote Kelly. "He would give the Braves a pretty old starting rotation, but Atlanta was interested in trading for 38-year-old Jacob deGrom at the trade deadline, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. With that knowledge, why would they shy away from two years for 37-year-old Gray?"
Gray has avoided Tommy John surgery in his long career and has proven to be a durable starter. He and Chris Sale would be a great duo for the Braves, but they would need to make more moves as well.
Kelly predicted a two-year, $30 million deal for Gray with the Braves. That would allow the Braves to spend on another starting pitcher as well, but it would certainly not be considered cheap. Gray has earned a payday, and it could be the last one of his career.
He will want to cash in, but he has never won a World Series and will want to join a contender.