OAKLAND, Calif. _ The A's already appear to be preparing for life after Sonny Gray.
With less than 48 hours until Monday's trade deadline, the club announced that Gray's scheduled start was pushed back from Sunday to Monday.
Manager Bob Melvin emphasized that the move was made in order to allow Jharel Cotton to pitch Sunday on a regular four-day rest, but it's hard to ignore the fact that the announcement came shortly after multiple reports came out that the New York Yankees are involved in heavy trade discussion with the A's for the prized pitcher.
"We'll give Sonny an extra day and he'll pitch on Monday," Melvin said. "I guess there is the potential (for a trade) but for us, regardless, we felt like it was the prudent thing to do. He's been pitching every fifth day and out there for typically seven innings so keeping Cotton on schedule as well just seems like it works out better for everyone."
Pushing Gray back a day also gives the other starters in the rotation an extra day of rest, allowing Paul Blackburn to step in and pitch on regular rest on Monday should Gray indeed get dealt before the deadline.
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