Written by Brian Hoch at MLB.com
The Yankees believe that they significantly improved their chances of securing championship No. 28 on Monday, pulling off one of the afternoon’s biggest moves by acquiring right-hander Sonny Gray from the Athletics in exchange for three top prospects.
With about an hour remaining before the 4 p.m. ET non-waiver Trade Deadline, the Yankees agreed to swap outfielder Dustin Fowler, infielder Jorge Mateo and right-hander James Kaprielian to Oakland in exchange for the 27-year-old Gray, widely viewed as one of the top available starters in the marketplace.
“On behalf of this fan base, this team has shown it’s got the ability to allow us to push a lot of these chips in the middle of the table and recognize 2017 has a chance to be special,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said.
Fowler, Mateo and Kaprielian were ranked as the fourth-, eighth- and 12th-best prospects, respectively, in the Yankees’ farm system by MLBPipeline.com. The Yanks are also receiving $1.5 million in international bonus pool money.
Gray will be joining a Yankees club that, with a 57-47 record, holds a half-game lead over the Red Sox in the American League East after Monday’s 7-3 victory over the Tigers.
“We kind of went back to our same old Yankees — the goal is to win the World Series,” CC Sabathia said. “We’re here now.”
Manager Joe Girardi said that Gray will make his first Yankees start during the team’s upcoming road trip, which begins on Thursday at Cleveland. Gray’s arrival will shake up the rotation, as Girardi said that he will not use six starters. The odd man out could be Jordan Montgomery, who lasted just 2 2/3 innings in Sunday’s 5-3 loss to the Rays.
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