The 36-year-old righty struck all the right chords during his intro press conference via Zoom on Tuesday with the Boston media
Sonny Gray hasn’t thrown his first pitch in a Red Sox uniform, and yet he’s already won over Boston fans by publicly swiping at the Yankees.
Whether this was following great advice from the team around him or just having a great intuition of what will play well to his new audience, the 36-year-old stuck the landing on that one.
Acquired from St. Louis last week, the veteran right-hander wasted no time getting on Boston’s good side. During his introduction, he leaned into the rivalry.
“It’s easy to hate the Yankees these days,” Gray told the media on a Zoom call Tuesday.
Without knowing the context of Gray’s career at all, that line lands with a fan base that never misses a chance to needle New York. I’m sure there’s already outlets putting together t-shirts.
Gray’s relationship with the Yankees has long been complicated. He arrived in the Bronx at the 2017 trade deadline with high expectations, and while his first two months were solid enough (3.72 ERA over 11 starts), things unraveled the following season.
A frustrating 2018 campaign - marked by a 4.90 ERA and 1.50 WHIP - made him public enemy No. 1 for sports talk radio callers in NYC, and led the Yankees to move him to Cincinnati that winter.
Gray has since said he “never wanted to go” to New York in the first place, and on Tuesday, he doubled down, saying he’s “more Boston than any other place.”
Oct 17, 2017; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi (28) relieves starting pitcher Sonny Gray (55) during the sixth inning in game four of the 2017 ALCS playoff baseball series against the Houston Astros at Yankee Stadium. (Robert Deutsch/Imagn Images)What does that really mean? Doesn’t matter. The dude hates New York, so we love ’em.
His move to the Red Sox came together quickly.Gray waived his no-trade clause without hesitation, calling it an “immediate yes” on Tuesday, saying he believes Boston “has a chance to win the World Series.” For a team coming off an 89-win season and a playoff appearance, that’s the tone-setting confidence any front office would be happy to hear during an intro presser with a veteran.
Gray enters the final guaranteed year of a three-year, $75 million deal, with a mutual 2027 option.
Acquiring him was costly: Boston sent highly-rated lefty pitching prospect Brandon Clarke and promising young righty Richard Fitts. But the Red Sox consider Gray a stabilizing force atop a rotation that improved last season, with starters posting a 3.92 ERA in 2025 - good for 12th in Major League Baseball.
That rotation, of course, included an upstart season from the now-departed Lucas Giolito. But in theory, Gray comes in as someone who can match that same level of production. And in the eyes of the Red Sox, he’s someone that can perform at an even higher level.
Gray joins Cy Young runner-up Garrett Crochet and rising right-hander Brayan Bello as the team’s current 1, 2, 3. Whether Bello remains the team's No. 3 as the offseason rolls along remains to be seen.
Jun 27, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) delivers a pitch in the ninth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. (David Richard/Imagn Images)The Red Sox handled the Yankees in the regular season last year, winning 9 of 13 matchups. But New York had the last word in October, knocking Boston out in the Wild Card Round after trailing Boston 1-0 at Yankee Stadium.
Gray won’t have to wait long to get his own shot at payback, and clearly he’s embracing the assignment.
Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.