MLB Rumors: Braves Dylan Cease competition, Sox asking price, why Twins ditched Gray
- The Atlanta Braves aren't alone in their recent pursuit of Dylan Cease.
- The White Sox asking price for Cease is revealed.
- Why did the Twins ditch Sonny Gray?
By Mark Powell
MLB Rumors: Why did the Minnesota Twins let Sonny Gray walk?
The Twins let Kenta Maeda and Sonny Gray walk this offseason, signaling a decrease in active payroll and a change in direction. Minnesota can still compete for an AL Central crown if they make the right moves, don't get it twisted, but they must replace at least Gray atop the rotation.
Minnesota traded a former first-round pick in Chase Petty for Gray just a few short years ago. In return, they received an ace-level pitcher for two years. Now that Gray has signed in St. Louis, the Twins will received a compensation pick (No. 33) in return.
Twins traded 2021 first-round pick Chase Petty (#26 overall) for Sonny Gray.
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) November 27, 2023
They got two very good seasons from Gray, who threw a total of 304 innings with a 2.90 ERA.
Now they'll get a 2024 first-round pick (around #33 overall) as compensation for losing Gray in free agency.
That's not the worst outcome for Minnesota, which typically prefers to build from within. As Puckett's Pond editor Josh Hill points out, so far the Gray trade looks like a good one from the Twins perspective:
"All it ended up costing the Twins was eight draft slots, which is a huge win given the narrative this past season about trades blowing up in the front office's face. We'll see how Petty turns out, but the Twins will essentially get to replace him three years later while getting all they got out of Gray," Hill wrote.
There have been some rumblings that the Twins will try to replace Maeda and Gray with at least on trade acquisition, so Minnesota is far from done despite losing two of their top starters. Frankly, things could be much worse.