Seattle Mariners Enter Mix to Acquire Sonny Gray

By Noriel See, Christian Post Contributor Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Just about every contender is interested in acquiring Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Sonny Gray, so this piece of news shouldn't come as a surprise to those who watch Major League Baseball (MLB).

According to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, the Seattle Mariners' general manager Jerry Dipoto is planning to make a move to acquire Gray before the nonwaiver trade deadline next Monday.

Trades between division rivals don't happen very often, but Feinsand pointed out that the Mariners and Athletics have swapped players before, and they have done it as recently as last offseason.

The Mariners traded catching prospect Jason Goldstein to the Athletics for pitcher Dillon Overton in January, and they shipped pitching prospect Paul Blackburn to Oakland in exchange for veteran first baseman Danny Valencia in November.

In any case, the Mariners will have to give up more of their minor league assets if they want to get Gray, and top prospect Kyle Lewis is likely to be included in that deal. The Mariners have already traded away prospects Tyler O'Neill, Brayan Hernandez, Pablo Lopez, Lukas Schiraldi and Brandon Miller to acquire relief pitchers David Phelps and Marco Gonzales in separate deals last week.

Gray would be a great addition, though, and the Mariners should seriously consider acquiring him.

"If Sonny joined James Paxton and Felix Hernandez at the top of the rotation, the Mariners suddenly have a formidable set of arms. It might not be enough to catapult them into the playoffs, but given how they entered Monday just 2½ games out of the final wild-card spot, the addition could be the necessary boost," Matt Calkins wrote in his column for the Seattle Times.

Gray is arguably the best pitcher who's still available on the trade market. The right-hander is eligible for arbitration in 2018 and 2019, which means he's under club control through the 2019 season.