Sonny Gray had a great season for the Boston Red Sox, but he is now a free agent.
Gray had a 2.72 ERA in 29 starts for the Red Sox, but his season ended on somewhat of a sour note. He was pulled early from his postseason start, and after the game felt like he could have given the team more innings. He was a big part of the team's success, and Craig Breslow commented on his free agency.
"Not going to get into specific pursuits of any individual player,” Breslow said on Monday, per MassLive's Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam, “but Sonny was fantastic for us. Obviously, we all saw what he did on the mound and what he meant to our team, but even beyond that, in the clubhouse, the veteran presence, the leadership, the calming presence that he has and the honesty with which he spoke. He was really embraced by the team, by me, and by the rest of the office. Nothing but great things to say about his experience.”
Gray would be a great player to bring back, but Breslow's comments seem more reflective than indicative of a re-signing. Plenty of rotation-needy teams will be lining up to sign Gray, and Breslow does not see the Red Sox as a team needing much help in the rotation right now.
“I think the rotation is in a really good place,” Breslow added. “I think it should be a strength of our 2027 team. Whether that’s through Garrett (Crochet) being healthy, the continued development of Payton (Tolle), Ranger (Suarez) being a steady, stalwart presence for us, Jake Bennett who emerged and Brayan Bello, who when he came back from being out on option, he looked reinvigorated and was effective in multiple different roles. And getting (Johan Oviedo), Kutter (Crawford) and Tanner (Houck) healthy, I think we should have options and we’ll have some competition.”
Losing Gray seems like a huge blow, but Breslow has confidence in the players he has on the roster.