The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are in one of the most storied rivalries in major U.S. Sports history. A recent saga in this rivalry was Sonny Gray, after being traded to the Red Sox, taking a jab at the Yankees on his way to Boston.
Not only was Gray eager to hate on the Yankees after this trade, but he also emphasized the point that "I never wanted to go there in the first place." But this offseason, Red Sox-Yankees drama is far from over.
Bryan Hoch of MLB.com shared Brian Cashman's side of the story about Gray's comments, and he refuted those comments, accusing the new Red Sox pitcher of lying about what was really said before he was traded to the Yankees.
Brian Cashman accuses Sonny Gray of lying about never wanting to pitch for Yankees
"When he was with the A's, he was telling our Minor League video coordinator, 'You've got to get me over to the Yankees. Tell Cash, get me over to the Yankees. I want out of Oakland. I want to win a world championship.'" Cashman said of Gray. "He was communicating that to a number of different people, and it was getting to us that he wants to be a Yankee."
If Cashman's story is true, then Gray would've been lying about never wanting to join the Yankees. Cashman claims Gray not only expressed an interest in coming to New York but tried to make it happen.
The story only gets more interesting. When asked by Cashman why he had said the things about wanting to come to the Yankees, Gray, according to Cashman, explained that it was his agents who had given him the directive.
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"My agent, Bo McKinnis, told me to do that." Cashman recalled from Gray, "He told me to lie. It wouldn't be good for my free agency to say there are certain places I don't want to go to."
Gray didn't last long in New York, as he had a 3.72 ERA in 11 starts in 2017, and followed it up with a 4.90 ERA season in 2018 before he left the Yankees after just one and a half seasons.
This offseason drama between the Yankees and Gray got an interesting twist with this accusation from Cashman. His recalling of Gray's time in New York has the new Red Sox starter lying about his interest in the Yankees, and only heightens the beef between the Yankees and the Red Sox for the upcoming 2026 season.
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