The Minnesota Twins took their first significant step toward restocking their starting pitching, acquiring right-hander Sonny Gray in a trade on Sunday with the Cincinnati Reds.
The Reds included minor league right-hander Francis Peguero in the deal for Twins pitching prospect Chase Petty, who was their first-round draft pick last year.
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The 32-year-old Gray, a two-time All-Star, went 7-9 with a 4.19 ERA and 155 strikeouts over 135 1/3 innings in 26 starts last season, his third with the Reds. Over nine years in the majors with the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees and Reds, Gray has a career record of 82-72 with a 3.61 ERA. Since 2014, he is tied for eighth among right-handers in baseball with 204 starts.
In the final guaranteed season of the deal he signed with the Reds to complete a trade from the Yankees in 2019, Gray will make a little more than $10 million. The Twins hold a club option for 2023 that comes without a buyout. Gray was one of the most obvious and valuable trade chips for Cincinnati, coming off a so-so 83-79 season.
Gray will slot right in at the top of Minnesota's rotation, which was ravaged last year by the trade of JosĂ© BerrĂos and the elbow injury to Kenta Maeda that will keep him out for most or all of 2022. Michael Pineda became a free agent and could re-sign if the price is right.
Otherwise, behind Gray, the Twins have Bailey Ober and Joe Ryan coming off promising rookie seasons, Randy Dobnak recovering from an injury-spoiled 2021 and reclamation project Dylan Bundy, who was signed as a free agent right before the lockout.
The 24-year-old Peguero, a native of the Dominican Republic, was signed as an international free agent by the Reds in 2017. He spent the 2021 season as a reliever for High-A affiliate Dayton, posting a 4.96 ERA in 28 appearances.
The 18-year-old Petty was selected by the Twins with the 26th pick last summer out of Mainland Regional High School in Linwood, New Jersey. The right-hander appeared in two minor league games last season.
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