11 Mets starting pitcher trade candidates ranked from the bottom to the top

6) NY Mets trade target Sonny Gray

Here’s the biggest concern with Sonny Gray: New York. He has pitched in the Big Apple before. The time he spent with the New York Yankees wasn’t so good. Could it be the pressures of the city or were there other elements at play when Gray limped through the 2018 season?

Outside of the 4.51 ERA performance he had in 195.2 innings with the Yankees, Gray had a 3.42 ERA in 705 Oakland Athletics innings to start his career and a 3.49 ERA performance in his last three seasons across 366.2 innings with the Cincinnati Reds. A pretty steady arm developing into more of a strikeout pitcher than he was earlier on in his career, Gray is someone Mets fans have debated ever since he rebounded with an All-Star season in 2019.

It makes sense why the Reds would be looking to move on from him. Owed $10.1 million this upcoming season with a team option in 2023, they have to ask themselves if 1) they’re willing to pay him and 2) if they are willing to pay him, are they able to go far enough to make themselves contenders? Gray is kind of a waste sitting around getting older on a team fated to go nowhere.

The great benefit of Gray is you kind of know exactly what you’re getting into. Plus, in any trade with the Reds for him, a big goal of the deal is to take on his salary. He may not cost a whole lot.