A’s right-hander Sonny Gray has had a hot July, and that means he’s being talked about.
TORONTO >> A’s starter Sonny Gray’s walk to the Rogers Centre mound Tuesday night could mark his final start in A’s green and gold.
For an Oakland team that dropped a 4-2 decision to the Blue Jays Monday night, box scores have taken a back seat to the scuttlebutt that lingers over the team in each and every market they arrive in.
What’s going on with Gray? Where is he going to get traded? How has he been able to shield all the outside distractions that go hand-in-hand with the approach-
ing trade deadline in order to keep his composure out on the mound?
“It seems I get asked things like that every day,” manager Bob Melvin said in the visitors clubhouse, just minutes after his team had suffered its fifth loss in the past seven outings. “It’s part of the trade deadline. And when you’re good and you are in the position that we are, it gets talked about a lot.”
That being the case, what has been the key for Gray, short of wearing ear plugs, to block out all the rumors?
“You hear the noise but, on the days you are pitching, you don’t,” Melvin said.
A simple explanation. And a relevant one, judging by the outstanding July Gray has turned in thus far.
Seemingly impervious each time he takes the mound to any outside suggestions that he could find himself donning a jersey of the Yankees, Mariners, Astros or another contending club by the time the July 31 trade deadline comes and goes, Grey has reeled off three consecutive victories this month and has done it with flair. In 18.1 innings of work in July, he’s allowed just 12 hits and four earned runs, sparkling numbers the A’s surely hope will sweeten any kind of return they might get from a front-running team desperate for starting pitching.
And there seemingly is no shortage of suitors.
When A’s director of player development Billy Owens was seen in Charleston at a RiverDogs game Sunday, the New York media immediately began connecting the dots between potential trade partners Oakland and the Yankees. The Charleston Riverdogs are a Class-A affiliate of the Yankees.
Meanwhile, a report on mlb.com Monday suggested that the Seattle Mariners may have entered the fray as potential suitors for Gray along with the Yankees and Astros, among others.
Since Gray is under team control through 2019, interested clubs should be more willing to cough up a more lucrative offer than they would for just a renta-player. The fact that he’s just 27 years old and sports a lifetime won-lost record of 44-35 makes him an attractive addition for any team with aspirations of playing deep into October.
As for the A’s on Monday, they started a 36-year-old pitcher with 43 fewer career wins than Gray.
Indeed, the only major league victory posted by Chris Smith came on June 24, 2008 when he was a reliever with the Boston Red Sox. Now, here he was Monday, some 109 months later, looking for Career Win No. 2.
Thanks to a sputtering Oakland A’s offence that managed to scratch out just two hits on the evening, he’ll have to wait a few more days for another shot at it.
Despite turning in a quality start by holding the host Toronto Blue Jays to three earned runs over six innings, Smith, 0-1, was the hard-luck loser. The Jays did make some loud outs in the process, including several screamers that had left fielder Khris Davis repeatedly tracking balls down at the warning track.
“That team hits good pitches, bad pitches they’re hitting pitches before I’m even throwing them,” Smith chuckled afterward, noting that “KD’s in the outfield playing bumper cars with the wall.”
The lone bright spot for the A’s offense was infielder Matt Chapman, who homered for a third consecutive game.