Sonny Gray has struggled early on in 2018 but it might not be time for the New York Yankees to panic, just yet.
When Sonny Gray was acquired at the trade deadline in 2017, they were hoping he would be the frontline starter he had shown flashes of being in Oakland.
The Yankees gave up a few highly touted prospects in Jorge Mateo, James Kaprelian, and Dustin Fowler, hoping the reward would be worth the price. So far the Yankees haven’t got the Sonny Gray that dominated at times in Oakland.
Sonny Gray burst on the scene in 2013 with a memorable performance in the ALDS against the Tigers in which Sonny threw eight scoreless innings and had nine strikeouts, outdueling Justin Verlander. Sonny Gray didn’t get credited for the win but this is where the hype would begin for his career.
From 2014-2015 Sonny Gray looked like one of the top pitchers in the MLB, winning 28 games during the two-year stretch and even tallying a third-place finish in the 2015 CY Young voting.
2016 would come with turmoil as Sonny Gray dealt with three different injuries, all in his right arm. 2016 would be Gray’s worst year statistically, going 5-11 with an ERA of 5.69.
In 2017 he was decent before coming to the Yankees but wasn’t dominant like the old Sonny Gray, posting an ERA of 3.43, pre-trade. As a Yankee Sonny Gray only had three starts that went at least seven innings, while struggling a bit with command towards the end of the season.
Gray struggled in the ALDS against the Cleveland Indians in a game in which he only went three and a third innings while giving up three runs. He threw 73 pitches in that start and walked four batters as well. He would bounce back in the ALCS though, throwing five innings of two-run ball.
So far in 2018 Sonny Gray has appeared in 4 games and has only reached the sixth inning once. In his last two starts, Gray has gotten shelled, giving up six runs in three innings pitched and five runs in three and a third. This has caused many Yankee fans to be concerned as to whether or not Sonny Gray will ever return to his dominant ace form.
Although Gray may never be an ace, he definitely deserves a chance to redeem himself due to his history of success. The Yankees didn’t trade for Gray for no reason. He has the stuff to be successful, it’s up to Gray and the Yankees to get him back to his old form, in 2018.