Since being traded to the Boston Red Sox, starting pitcher Sonny Gray has made himself clear regarding his time with the New York Yankees.
Gray’s side of the story, and Yankees GM Brian Cashman’s side tell two different tales. According to Cashman, Gray used the Yankees as leverage so as not to harm his free agent value at the time. Gray was traded to the Yankees at the 2017 trade deadline, and talked very highly of the organization upon his arrival. However, he waited until an entire calendar year had passed to explain to Cashman that he actually did not like playing for the Yankees.
Gray, who was previously an All-Star with the Oakland Athletics before arriving in New York, had a miserable season and a half in the Bronx, pitching to a 15-16 record with a 4.51 ERA while donning the pinstripes.
Cashman explained at the Winter Meetings that encounter he had with Gray around the 2018 trade deadline.
“He said, 'I thought you were going to trade me," Cashman said. "I was like, publicly I'm out trying to get pitching, starting pitching and bullpen.
Why would I trade a starter when we need pitching badly?... And he goes, 'Well I got to tell you, I've never wanted to'... That's when he told me he never wanted to be here. He hates New York. This is the worst place. He just sits in his hotel room."
Now a member of the Red Sox, Gray could potentially be pitching with a chip on his shoulder this season as a new ripple in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry has now come about.
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