By all accounts the Los Angeles Dodgers have zeroed in on Yu Darvish, Sonny Gray and Justin Verlander in their quest to trade for a starting pitcher ahead of the July 31 deadline. It’s believed the bulk of the Dodgers’ attention is on the Texas Rangers ace.
In some regard that goes against Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman’s track record. He’s hardly one to trade for rentals, particularly if it comes at the expense of top prospects, which presumably would be the case in a deal for Darvish.
That perhaps may be factor in some executives believing the Dodgers will ultimately trade for Gray prior to 1 p.m. PT on Monday, according to Joel Sherman of The New York Post:
In the past 24 hours, I have had multiple executives play connect the dots, with the end result being Sonny Gray ends up a Dodger.
Yet every time I check, I hear he is not a front-burner issue for them and that other teams will value the A’s righty more (translation: give up a better return than Los Angeles is willing to).
Much like the Rangers with Darvish, the Oakland Athletics are said to be seeking elite prospects in a trade involving Gray. Unlike Darvish, Gray is under team control beyond this season and not eligible for free agency until 2020.
The 27-year-old is 6-5 with a 3.43 ERA, 3.25 FIP and 1.18 WHIP in 16 starts this season. There are some concerns over Gray’s durability, though that’s been where the Dodgers often emerge as a suitor given the team’s depth that makes it possible to absorb an injury.
The Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros and New York Yankees are among the teams that have been connected to Gray.
