Braves Interested In Sonny Gray Braves Interested In Sonny Gray

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The Braves have interest in  , as MLB Networks Jon Morosi ( ) describes Atlanta as   one of the top suitors   for the right-handers services. The Twins (Grays former team), Cardinals, and Phillies have all been linked to the free agent at various points this winter, though Philadelphia is probably off the board after re-signing  earlier today.  Intriguingly, Morosi and ESPNs Jeff Pa san that Atlanta also made a push to sign Nola, indicating that the Braves have their eyes on a big rotation upgrade. Reports from last week that the Braves were targeting pitching help, and wrote earlier today that at least front-line starter seems to be on Atlantas wishlist  As Rosenthal and others have observed since Fridays non-tender deadline, the Braves made a flurry of cuts to their arbitration cla s, as a series of trades, releases, and non-tenders resulted in 10  Josh Staumont Jersey open spots on the 40-man roster and almost $14MM shaved from the budget. The Braves were planning to anyway in 2024, yet naturally every dollar counts in a situation where Atlanta might have to outbid other teams for a top free agent hurler.  MLB Trade Rumors projected a four-year, $90MM deal for Gray, who ranked ninth on our list of . The three-time All-Star has been solid for most of his 11-year career, but 2023 was arguably Grays best season, as he delivered a 2.79 ERA over 184 innings for the Twins and finished second in AL Cy Young Award voting. While Grays past injury history is a little checkered, his performance last year likely helped calm some doubts over whether or not Gray can remain a productive and durable arm as he enters his age-34 season.  It is po sible that the Braves view Gray as, at the very least, a succe sor to  as the rotations veteran stalwart. Morton came to Atlanta in advance of his age-37 season and has been very effective over his three seasons with the team, to the point that the Braves exercised their $20MM club option to bring Morton back for 2024. Morton is now 40 years old and often considering retirement, while  can be a free agent next winter, so Atlanta could use another longer-term pitcher to pair alongside  .  Atlanta president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has been pretty measured in in his six years running the front office.  s four-year, $65MM deal is easily the largest contract the Braves have given out in the Anthopoulos era, with most of their other signings trending towards one- or two-year deals with experienced veterans (i.e.  ,  , Mortons initial deal). Because the Braves surpa sed the luxury tax threshold in 2023, theyd also have to give up two 2024 draft picks and $1MM in international draft pool money to sign a qualifying-offer rejecting free agent like Gray.  However, it could be that this is simply an extra price that Anthopoulos is willing to pay to bolster the rotation. While the Braves starting pitching has been more than solid in recent years, it has fallen short in the playoffs the last two years, plus the Braves navigated a lot of rotation injuries last year in particular. Since theres no indication that Atlantas powerful lineup is going to slow down, improving the pitching staff might be the last step nece sary in getting the Braves back to the World Series.  Christian Vazquez Jersey