BALTIMORE _ With intensifying trade talks involving Manny Machado taking place outside the lines this week, the Yankees had another critically important issue to deal with Wednesday night at Camden Yards. This one also carries a significant impact on the team's immediate future, and his name is Sonny Gray.
The Yankees still have plenty to sort out before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, and Machado's fate could be decided well before that, as the team reportedly has made a "strong offer" to the Orioles, according to FanCred.com. Wherever Machado winds up, however, doesn't necessarily resolve their Gray matter, unless the pitcher is somehow dealt in a late-July trade frenzy (don't rule anything out this time of year).
The preference, of course, would be for Gray to shed his insecurities, rebuild his confidence and pitch like the front-line starter Brian Cashman thought he was getting a year ago when he sent three top-12 prospects to the A's. On Wednesday night, Gray was able to perform a believable impression of one, pitching six scoreless innings and striking out eight.
The Yankees certainly helped him relax, swatting three home runs _ including Greg Bird's first career slam, which put him up 5-0 by the third inning. With the pressure off, Gray cruised, and for once appeared to enjoy himself, smiling after a kick save of a Machado comebacker and also making a nifty sliding play to throw out Jonathan Schoop from his knees.
Basically, Gray could ease a ton of team-wide anxiety just by doing his job, and the series finale against the Orioles was the perfect time for it. Not only was Gray coming off an ugly two-inning stint in Toronto, he was 0-3 in his last three starts with a 12.27 ERA, and opponents had a 1.099 OPS against him. Aaron Boone wouldn't cop to such a thing, but it was worth suggesting that Gray's spot in the rotation could soon be in jeopardy if the carnage continued.
But this goes well beyond Gray. The Yankees entered Wednesday 3 { games behind the soaring Red Sox, and being noncompetitive each time Gray takes the mound is not something they can afford if they hope to win the AL East. Also, the rotation as a whole has appeared wobbly of late, and Cashman is having trouble securing a high-quality reinforcement.
Since Gray's last outing, that July 6 atrocity at Rogers Centre, the average start for a member of the Yankees' rotation during those six games has looked like this: 4 2/3 innings, five hits, 2.3 walks, 4.5 strikeouts and 1.17 home runs _ with a 5.40 ERA. The two best starters during that stretch? Domingo German and Luis Cessa, with the latter sent back to Triple-A Scranton to make room for Masahiro Tanaka's return from the DL.
Sure, Wednesday night was crucial for Gray. It's his career. But the Yankees have a lot riding on him as well.
"To read into it what it means exactly, I don't want to go there," Boone said before the game. "All of our energy right now is being poured into hopefully allowing him to go out there and be at his best."
If Gray's rebound can stick, then maybe the Yankees don't have to be quite so desperate in their trade negotiations for a starter. We still think Cashman will get one anyway _ Toronto's J.A. Happ is a reasonable get _ and maybe before too long, Justus Sheffield also will join the party.
Sheffield's name came up again Wednesday when it was reported by MASN that he was not among the players mentioned in the Yankees' offer for Machado. But as the team's top pitching prospect, he wasn't expected to be anyway, not for two-plus months of Machado. Sheffield is 4-5 with a 2.44 ERA in 15 starts and one relief appearance split between Scranton and Double-A Trenton. The 22-year-old left-hander, who was among the 2016 haul from the Indians for Andrew Miller, also has a 7.33 K/BB ratio and 1.141 WHIP.
Cashman has plenty of other chips for a Machado rental, with more left over for another starting pitcher. But if Gray's situation is less murky, that's one less thing the Yankees have to worry about as they strengthen their roster for a second-half charge at the first-place Red Sox. They'll take that for now.
