5 teams that could steal Sonny Gray away from Twins in free agency
There are a few teams that might give Minnesota a run for its money in the Sonny Gray sweepstakes.
One of the biggest storylines of the offseason for the Minnesota Twins will be what happens with Sonny Gray.
He has a qualifying offer coming his way but there's a growing sense that he'll decline that and hit free agency. He sounded thankful but non-commital to Minnesota in his exit interview following the ALDS loss, which seems to suggest he's no sure-thing to return.
Twins fans have been split on whether they want him back, but he'd enter winter as one of the top fre agents on the market and the top pitcher for teams to pursue. If he doesn't accept the Twins qualifying offer, he'll have a long line of teams looking to give him what he wants after the season he put together in Minnesota.
5 teams that could steal Sonny Gray in free agency
Los Angeles Dodgers
Are the Los Angeles Dodgers going to react to an embarrassing October performance by trying to spend their way out of it? Who could have seen this coming?
No matter what happens the rest of the postseason, nothing will top the Dodgers getting swept out of the NLDS after finishing the season with 100 wins. It was diabolically hilarious to everyone who isn't a Dodgers fan, but it might result in the team trying to overcompensate this winter.
Gray put together the kind of season that feels tailor-made for the Dodgers to get way too excited about. He'll finish close to a Cy Young, is a veteran starter who has postseason experience, and can fit right in alongside Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw (assuming he returns). It might also create a perfect situation that leads him away from Minnesota, too, as Los Angeles can offer both contention and top dollar.
St. Louis Cardinals
This one has already been teased, as USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported that the Cardinals plan to 'strongly pursue' Gray this winter.
It makes sense, since the Cardinals are coming out of a down year where the team missed the playoffs and finished in last place. That's pretty far below the standard St. Louis has set, and it's not hard to imagine the team doing all it can to climb out of that hole.
Gray fits the bill.
St. Louis is going to try and rebuild its rotation, with one target being Shota Imanaga who would pair nicely with Gray as offseason additions. The Cards already have Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz seemingly locked into their rotation, and Gray might come in and serve as the No. 1 starter.
San Francisco Giants
Gray already played the role of the reliable and seasoned veteran with the Twins, pairing well with Pablo Lopez as he ascended to become the team's ace. It's a position he might find himself in again next season if the San Francisco Giants come calling.
San Francisco can't let the Twins get the upper hand twice, can they? After losing out on Carlos Correa, who was among the absolute best signings of the offseason in hindsight, the Giants meandered through the season and ended up finishing in fourth place out West. If we know anything about the Giants, it's that they're a cyclical ballclub and the trend suggests that after a down year they always bounce back as contenders.
That could be the case in 2024 thanks to the youth movement happening in the Bay Area. Much like how the Twins rode some hot rookies into October, the Giants have a handful of young prospects who could make an impact -- and plenty of them are on the pitching staff.
Kyle Harrison is the biggest name, as he looks like the next young ace to come out of San Francisco's farm system. He's joined by guys like Tristan Beck and Keaton Winn, both of whom could be impactful mid-rotation starters next year. Sound familiar?
On top of those young players, the Giants still have Logan Webb, Alex Cobb, and Gray's old teammate Sean Manaea. Cobb has a club option while Manaea has a $12.5M player option he'll almost certainly exercise. Add Sonny Gray into this mix and all of a sudden the Giants have an incredibly deep and potentially potent starting rotation.
One thing the Twins did wisely was stack its pitching and build it for October. The Giants having Gray, Webb, Harrison, Beck, Winn, and Manaea as playoff series options sounds pretty ideal.
Atlanta Braves
Something important that Gray said during his exit interview with the Twins this season was that money won't pilot his free agency journey. He has no doubt earned one final big payday thanks to the season he had in Minnesota, but contending is going to be at the top of his list and the Atlanta Braves seem like a perfect fit in that regard.
Atlanta was blown up by Philadelphia in the NLDS this year, and that failure is likely to drive their offseason decisions. One major question for the team moving forward is what happens with the pitching staff, which might get overhauled this winter. Spencer Strider is locked in, Max Fried will be back after arbitration -- if not on a long-term deal -- and Bryce Elder is the young rising star.
There's a lot to like about that rotation, but it's missing a piece. Sonny Gray could step in and fill that role rather nicely the same way he did in Minnesota. He fits just about anywhere in the rotation, from a front-end starter to a guy who can settle into the middle of the rotation and just obliterate teams hoping to catch a break.
Gray was the No. 2 starter in Minnesota, which helped make him dangerous to the point of being a Cy Young candidate. Take away his rough game against the Astros in Game 4 and the idea of Gray in the postseason for Atlanta is the kind of thing that might take them over the top and avoid a meltdown like they saw against Philly this October.
Boston Red Sox
A few teams are guaranteed to always be in the conversation for top free agents, and the Boston Red Sox are near the top of that shortlist. The Yankees already gave Gray a spin and probably won't be circling back, although don't count anything out with them.
More realistically, if Gray does a second tour in the AL East it will be in Boston. It provides some nice revenge opportunities but it makes sense over the long term for the Red Sox. Gray only has a few more years left in his career, but he'll probably be pitching into 2026 at some sort of productive level.
Boston needs a replacement for Chris Sale, which Gray could help provide.
Sale is locked in for 2024 at $27.5M with a full no-trade clause, which is brutal for Boston. The first chance the team has to move from him is 2025 when they can decline his club option and save $25M by doing so. At that point, if all goes well, Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford will be top starters and Gray can fill in the Sale role as the veteran leader.
Something that makes this even more possible is if Thad Levine gets the GM job in Boston. There's no guarantee he'll take Gray with him, but there's a natural incentive to take one of the best successes he had in Minnesota and bring it with him to his new job.
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