*Photo from The Athletic*
After some position player wheeling and dealing, the Minnesota Twins set their sights on the starting rotation, and got their man. The Twins have acquired RHP Sonny Gray and RHP Francis Peguero from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for RHP Chase Petty. Both teams have confirmed the trade.
Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said of getting Gray that "Sonny Gray’s been on the radar for a long time for a lot of teams, obviously, but we think this is a guy who really establishes an anchor in our rotation, a guy that young players can look up to and someone we think is really going to lead us. The makeup is off the charts, and the pitcher, what he’s accomplished at the Major League level, is among the best in the game."
One thing Gray has improved on vastly while with the Reds has been his strikeouts. In the 3 seasons he was in Cincinnati, Gray ranked 18th in baseball among pitchers in strikeouts, with 432, including 205 in 2019. He also finished 20th in ERA among pitchers who have thrown 300 or more innings in this 3 year span.
Last season in Cincinnati, Gray finished with a 7-9 record with a 4.19 ERA and 1.21 WHIP, striking out 155 hitters while walking 50 more, throwing 135 1/3 innings in 26 starts for the Reds, who finished in 3rd place in the NL Central, with an 83-79 record. He also has a team option for 2023 worth $12 million, which the Twins are likely to exercise.
Gray, a two time all star and Cy Young runner up, has a career 82-72 record, with a 3.61 ERA and 1.22 WHIP, striking out 1,221 hitters in 1,267 1/3 innings, making 214 starts and 9 relief appearances in 9 big league seasons, split between the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, and the Reds.
Reds GM Nick Krall said of trading Gray that "I’d like to thank Sonny for everything he has done with our club. He’s been a tremendous teammate, a tremendous player; just a really great guy to have. Talking to him was really tough, but we felt this was a good baseball deal for us."
The only return for the Reds is Petty, who was the Reds first round draft pick in 2021, and was the 4th ranked prospect in their system prior to the trade, and about to turn only 19 years old. He appeared in just two games last season for the Twins FCL league team, and projects to start the season with the Reds ACL league team.
Krall said of Petty's talent that "He has a chance to be a high-end starting pitcher for a long time. We’re really excited to have him. John Ceprini, our area scout in the Northeast, did a lot of work on him for the Draft. We thought we had a chance to get him with our comp pick last year. We think he’s got a chance to be a high-caliber Major League starter or reliever, and time will tell."
With the Twins, Gray and Kenta Maeda lead the rotation, ahead of Dylan Bundy and a combination of Bailey Ober, Lewis Thorpe, Griffin Jax, and Randy Dobnak. The Reds rotation takes a hit, with Tyler Mahle and Luis Castillo currently the only entrenched starters.
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