Dodgers Rumors: Should LA Go After Free Agent Starting Pitcher Sonny Gray This Offseason?

Poor starting pitching doomed the Dodgers for their most recent playoff flameout to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 NLDS.

After witnessing all three of their starters fail to reach three innings of work in any outing many fans wonder just how LA’s rotation will look this winter.

Walker Buehler’s return from injury will help the 2024 pitching staff but Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report suggested that another veteran option Sonny Gray could be an option for LA this spring as well.

Still, it’s hard to see a Dodgers team focused on title contention going with such an inexperienced group, and even if Kershaw comes back on another one-year deal, a veteran like Gray could still be on the shopping list.

via Joel Reuter, Bleacher Report

Gray first rose to prominence as an Oakland Athletic in a breakout 2015 season where he finished 3rd in AL Cy Young voting with a 2.73 ERA and 169 strikeouts over 208 innings of work.

Oakland later dealt Gray to the New York Yankees where he would struggle a bit for parts of two seasons in the Bronx.

Cincinnati became Gray’s next destination where he’d once again find himself in the All-Star game after a dominant 2019 campaign.

Cy Young votes once again came Gray’s way after a great first season with the Reds where he tossed 187 innings for a 2.87 ERA and a career-high 205 punchouts.

The righty inked a three-year extension before coming over to Cincinnati and helped the Reds to a 2020 playoff berth with some more solid work.

The 2021 season wasn’t Gray’s best showing and he got traded for the third time in his career, this time back to the American League to the Minnesota Twins.

This year marked yet another return to All-Star form as Gray’s performance against the Toronto Blue Jays helped Minnesota win their first playoff series in over three decades.

Though his final start of the postseason ended poorly against the Houston Astros, the 33-year-old should still command a hefty price tag in free agency.

If the Dodgers don’t want to compete for a championship with a battered rotation once again in 2024, Gray would be a perfectly dependable veteran starter for the job.

Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

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