Gray to Stay or Sonny to Take Smart Money

[old nurse]

On 10/20/2023 at 10:53 AM, nicksaviking said:

Or he gets bored of a city every few years so he pulls up the tent, grabs his bindle and rides the rails to a new destination.

Traded to New York,  traded to Cincinnati, traded to Minnesota. I do not see where any of that was his choice

[old nurse]

6 hours ago, Otaknam said:

I think Sonny will walk because the manager does not trust him to pitch more than five innings. And Gray has a bulldog mentality. 

184 innings, 32 games , math,  

[Richie the Rally Goat]

6 hours ago, old nurse said:

184 innings, 32 games , math,  

But 5.75 innings per start and being top 5 rotation innings pitched doesn’t fit the narrative!

[old nurse]

53 minutes ago, Richie the Rally Goat said:

But 5.75 innings per start and being top 5 rotation innings pitched doesn’t fit the narrative!

21 games of more than 5 inning.s It seemed like Baldelli used a pitch count of 100 not IP

[ashbury]

7 hours ago, old nurse said:

184 innings, 32 games , math,  

Yes.  Exactly.  Gray used to be a 6+ inning pitcher in his 20s, but no manager since 2017 has given him the number of innings per start that Rocco did this year.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/grayso01-pitch.shtml#all_pitching_starter

And yes, pitcher health played a role in this; Sonny was a little dinged up at times last year and Rocco didn't choose to leave him in the way he did in 2023.  But this tired old trope that Rocco pulls his starters too soon needs to fade away.  Rocco (or the system he works within, same diff) has shown to be pragmatic in this department.

[USAFChief]

On 10/20/2023 at 8:36 AM, Fire Dan Gladden said:

In the end, it really comes down to Gray's priorities.

I worry about his health.

So it comes down to...wait for it...

 

Gray's Anatomy. 

[Twins GFP]

Just now, USAFChief said:

I worry about his health.

You know...wait for it...

 

Gray's Anatomy. 

I see what you did there...

[Riverbrian]

On 10/22/2023 at 6:31 AM, old nurse said:

Traded to New York,  traded to Cincinnati, traded to Minnesota. I do not see where any of that was his choice

I do believe that this will finally be his first true opportunity for him to make his own decision on where he hangs his hat and I agree that being traded from club to club isn't a player choice. 

It should be mentioned that Sonny could have been a free agent after the 2019 season. He chose to sign an extension with the Reds before the season started and that same extension transferred over to the Twins in our deal to acquire him. So... Sonny did choose to give up his right to choose at that time.   

It's apple and oranges though... In January of 2019 he was coming off his worst year with a 4.90 ERA in Yankee Stadium. The Yankees were more than ready to trade him at that point and the Reds agreed reportedly contingent upon Sonny signing an extension. 

So... Assumptions by me of course.

If Sonny wanted out of New York... He needed to sign the extension. 

Sonny just had a crappy year and an extension probably seemed like a sensible move since it was being offered. 

So his free agency has been delayed until now by his choice but it sure seemed like the only sensible choice.