The New York Yankees have been active on the trade market in hopes of landing a top-tier pitcher before Monday's trade deadline, with Sonny Gray of the Oakland A's serving as their top target.
New York has been negotiating with Oakland for the past several months and are now considered the favorites to land Gray, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
There is fluidity at this time of year. Changes required due to performance or injury or even if a team on the borderline of contention wins or loses a few in a row.
But the belief among executives from interested teams is that most have let the A’s know the significant piece or two that they would be willing to include in a multi-prospect trade for Sonny Gray, and that one of the suitors will separate themselves before Gray’s next scheduled start Sunday against the Twins.
These executives indicated a belief that the Yankees have proposed the best players to top the deal to date, and that one item that favors their chances to get the righty is that the Astros might be the team most willing to take a risk on Baltimore’s Zach Britton.
A deal between the two sides is expected to be completed this weekend, but could be done tomorrow. Oakland wants prospect Estevan Florial included in the deal for Gray, and the Yankees seem willing to oblige to that request.
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The Yankees are in need of pitching help, with Michael Pineda done for the year and then some. Plus, Jordan Montgomery has hit a rough patch and Masahiro Tanaka is having a down year. The addition of Gray (or another top-tier starter), would help the Yankees in their effort to close the one-game gap between them and the Red Sox and/or maintain their lead in the AL Wild Card.
Gray is 6-5 with a 3.43 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 16 starts this season, and he can't become a free agent until after the 2019 season.
New York is also trying to acquire first baseman Yonder Alonso from the A's, and there's a chance they could land both players before the deadline. He is batting .265 with 21 home runs and 45 RBIs in 92 games this season.
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