The Philadelphia Phillies missed out on returning to the World Series in back-to-back seasons. Still, they lost game seven to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Championship Series. Entering the offseason, it was known that they would most likely see their ace Aaron Nola test free agency, which means he may not return to the team; with that being a possibility, they may have to shift their focus elsewhere. Today, a report came out from Jon Morosi; if Aaron Nola does sign elsewhere, they are interested in bringing in RHP Sonny Gray. Gray would be an excellent fit with the Phillies as their pitching coach, Caleb Cotham, is a former teammate of Gray at Vanderbilt University, and he was also the pitching coach for the Cincinnati Reds when Gray was there.
Jon Gray By The Numbers
The Chicago Cubs drafted Gray in the 27th round of the 2008 MLB Draft, but he didn’t sign and decided to go to Vanderbilt. In 2011, the Oakland A’s drafted Gray with the 18th overall pick. Gray made his debut in 2013 with the A’s and pitched there for five seasons, making 114 appearances with 112 of those being starts; he was 44-36 with a 3.42 ERA, a 3.56 FIP, a 1.20 WHIP, a 0.8 HR/9, a 2.9 BB/9, and a 7.7 K/9. On July 31, 2017, he was traded to the New York Yankees, and with the Yankees, he made 41 appearances with 34 starts, going 15-16 with a 4.51 ERA, a 4.40 FIP, a 1.41 WHIP, a 1.1 HR/9, a 3.9 BB/9, and an 8.4 K/9. In 2019, he was traded by the Yankees to the Cincinnati Reds, and he spent three seasons with the Reds, making 68 starts, going 23-20 with a 3.49 ERA, a 3.57 FIP, a 1.15 WHIP, a 1.0 HR/9, a 3.5 BB/9, and a 10.6 K/9. In 2022, the Reds traded him to the Minnesota Twins; with the Twins, he made 56 starts, going 16-13 with a 2.90 ERA, a 3.05 FIP, a 1.13 WHIP, a 0.6 HR/9, a 2.7 BB/9, and an 8.9 K/9. In 2023 he made 32 starts, going 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA, a 2.83 FIP, a 1.14 WHIP, a 0.4 HR/9, a 2.7 BB/9, and a 9.0 K/9. Over his career, he is 98-95 with a 3.47 ERA, a 3.57 FIP, a 1.20 WHIP, a 0.8 HR/9, a 3.1 BB/9, and an 8.7 K/9. If that is the route the Phillies take, Gray wouldn’t be a bad #2 behind Zack Wheeler.
