Who’s he and the place did he come from?
He’s Sonny Douglas Grey and, though he was born and raised in suburban Nashville, for those who’d listened to his introductory press name yesterday, you’d’ve thought he grew up in a triple decker off Dot Ave:
What does it imply, in his case, that he’s “extra Boston than every other place”? Does he throw on a scally cap when he heads to Dunks to select up an ice espresso on a 25 diploma day in January? Is his Spotify feed nothing however Donna Summer time, Bell Biv Devoe, and the Pixies? Is he late to work each single day as a result of a practice caught on fireplace someplace? We’ll discover out!
I’m prepared to wager that he’s higher than you assume. Grey debuted in 2013. Since then, right here’s a have a look at the top-10 pitchers in baseball per fWAR:
Sure, Grey has been the eighth-best pitcher of his whole era, only a shade behind three no-doubt Corridor of Famers (a fourth in Cris Sale??) and three different Cy Younger winners.
I believe there are only a few baseball followers who notice that Grey has been that good, which might be a perform of the truth that he’s spent the overwhelming majority of his profession in small market hell. Grey had his finest season with the Cincinnati Reds, his highest Cy Younger end with the Minnesota Twins (second in 2023), and has thrown way more innings for the Oakland A’s than every other workforce. He’s made simply six postseason begins in his whole profession, and the lone full season he spent in an enormous market — 2018 with the Yankees — was arguably the worst season of his profession. When you had been attempting to design a profession trajectory that will lead to an awesome pitcher being largely ignored by the broader baseball phrase, you couldn’t do significantly better than copying Sonny Grey’s Baseball Reference web page.
There are some purple flags to think about. First, Grey is now 36-years-old and, because the chart above illustrates, he’s received quite a lot of innings in that proper arm. Second, he posted an ERA+ of simply 97 final season, the third-lowest mark of his profession. And, third, his fastball velocity, which was by no means elite even throughout his prime, is dropping yr over yr and averaged simply 92 MPH in 2025.
However, regardless of the league-average ERA+ final yr, he remained elite in a number of key areas. He had the eleventh most strikeouts in baseball final yr and the sixth-fewest walks, in reality. And, as Jacob Roy explained yesterday, his fastball will not be as a lot of an issue as some individuals assume, notably since his finest pitch is his sweeper whereas his curveball can also be a plus providing (Grey known as himself the most effective spinner within the sport yesterday). His 4.28 ERA in 2025 was largely the results of the truth that he was horrible with males on base, however that’s not likely one thing that’s been an issue for him previously, which suggests it’s most probably small pattern measurement noise.
I’m not saying you must pencil him into the 2026 All-Star workforce. The actual fact of the matter is that he’s at an age the place it might all begin falling aside for him in a short time and that’s regarding. However nobody ought to be remotely shocked if he does carry out at an All-Star degree subsequent yr.
Tl;dr, simply give me his 2025 stats.
32 GS, 180.2 IP, 201 Ok, 38 BB, 25 HR, 4.28 ERA, 3.39 FIP, 3.07 xFIP, 3.6 fWAR, 1.4 bWAR
Present me a cool spotlight.
We’re only a few months faraway from Grey throwing an 11-strikeout Maddux, individuals!
What’s he doing in his image up there?
Spending a second within the shadows to remind himself that he’s already survived the darkness that’s being related to the New York Yankees. Grey legitimately hated his time within the Bronx, says he by no means wished to play there, and is happy to come back to Boston as a result of he could be himself and since “it’s simple to hate the Yankees” right here.
What’s his position on the 2026 Pink Sox?
When he was acquired last week, there was a lot consternation round whether or not he’s “the true quantity two” the Pink Sox want behind Garrett Crochet or whether or not one other massive arm can be coming. Based on the recent leaks about Red Sox spending, I’m guessing Grey is it so far as massive pitching acquisitions go. Whether or not he succeeds or fails in that quantity two position may very well be the defining query of the 2026 Pink Sox season.
