Cincinnati Reds: Sonny Gray traded from New York; signs 3-year extension

The Cincinnati Reds got their guy. The Reds and Yankees completed a trade today that brings right-hander starter Sonny Gray to Cincinnati.

The Reds have been rumored since Brian Cashman put him on the trade block, to be after Sonny Gray. After several days, and realistically months, of a rumored trade between the Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees, a deal was finally reached that brings the right-handed starter to Cincinnati.

In exchange, he Reds sent one of the top prospects, second baseman Shed Long, to the Yankees. In addition to Long, who was promptly traded from New York to Seattle, the Reds also sent a competitive balance draft pick to the Yankees.

This trade had been in the works for several days. Both the Reds and Yankees and agreed to several parameters surrounding the acquisition of Gray, but Cincinnati wanted to sign him to an extension before finalizing the deal. Gray was only signed through next season.

The Cincinnati Reds and Sonny Gray agreed to a three-year extension worth $30.5M. This is in addition to the one-year $7.5M salary Gray agreed to with the Yankees, so in essence the Reds have Gray under team-control for the next four years. There is also a $12M club-option for 2023.

The Reds have promised since the season ended that they would get the pitching. Since the offseason began, Cincinnati added Tanner Roark and Alex Wood via trades with the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers respectively. Gray adds a third starting pitcher to this year’s of list offseason acquisitions.

Gray likely projects to be the Reds No. 3 or No. 4 starter when the season begins, but the Vanderbilt product certainly has the ability to elevate beyond that. In 2015, Gray was an All-Star with the Oakland Athletics. He went 14-7 that season, had a 2.73 ERA, and finished third in the AL Cy Young voting.

The Reds sent Shed Long to the Yankees, who immediately turned around and sent the former Reds’ prospect to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Josh Stowers. Long was the No. 7 prospect in the Cincinnati farm system, but was blocked at the Major League level by both Scooter Gennett and Nick Senzel. The Reds also sent their competitive balance pick to New York which is likely to be No. 36 in the 2019 MLB Draft.

The Cincinnati Reds now have a solid addition to their rotation who’ll be with the team for years to come. It’s the team’s hope that by reuniting him with this former pitching coach, Derek Johnson, that Gray will revert back to his All-Star level that saw him own a 3.42 ERA in four-plus season with the A’s.