Turning the page
At 69-93, Oakland finished last in the AL West for the second straight season, winning one more game than in 2015.
OAKLAND, Calif. — Sonny Gray is starting fresh, ready to be Oakland’s reliable ace again.
His forgettable 2016 season is behind him, and that’s a positive thing considering last year began in frustration.
Gray was scratched from his scheduled outing opening day because of food poisoning and never had the kind of season he envisioned as the leader of the rotation.
Two stints on the disabled list. Inconsistency when he was healthy. Struggling to a 5-11 record on the heels of back-to-back 14win campaigns.
“It started off on a sour note with getting sick,” Gray said. “Again, it’s one of the things you went through and you experienced it and you know what it’s like. You’ve got to put it in the past and not look back at it. That’s the approach I’ve been taking.”
The right-hander, who last month received a $3,575,000 one-year contract to avoid arbitration, plans to pitch in the World Baseball Classic for the Americans to get himself back in a groove.
This winter, Gray worked with a personal trainer for the first time and appreciated the guidance through his regular arm care and maintenance routine.
He first spent a stint on the disabled list with a strain in his upper back before missing time down the stretch on the DL again with a strained right forearm. After getting hurt Aug. 6, the 27-year-old Gray didn’t pitch again until one inning of relief Sept. 28 at the Angels — an important step, according to the team, for him to go into the offseason on a positive note.
Gray, a 2015 All-Star, was limited to 22 starts and 117 innings.