MLB Trade Rumors: Sonny Gray Ready To Be Traded By Red Sox
Gray told Tim Healey of the Boston Globe that he would be open-minded about waiving the full no-trade protection he negotiated into his contract if Boston commits to a deadline teardown.
"If someone came to me from the Red Sox and made a decision that that's the direction that this team was going to go, I would be open for a conversation," Gray said. "Whatever happens from then, only time will tell. But I would be open for a conversation."
Why He's the Obvious Trade Chip
Gray has been one of the few bright spots at Fenway Park this season.
The 36-year-old right-hander holds a 3.12 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP across 69.1 innings, has not allowed more than three runs in a game since April 14, and is sporting the kind of plus command, a 6 percent walk rate, that has defined his career even as his strikeout rate has dipped to a career-low 19.4 percent.
He is also due to become a free agent after this season, barring the exercise of a mutual option that almost never gets picked up.
That combination makes trading him an obvious option if the Red Sox become sellers.
Sonny Gray is open to having a conversation about waiving his no-trade clause if the Red Sox go in that direction, per @timbhealey.
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) June 22, 2026
“If someone came to me from the Red Sox and made a decision that that’s the direction that this team was going to go, I would be open for a… pic.twitter.com/JklTItCplL
He values the veto power he holds, calling it an earned thing that means a lot.
He negotiated it into the three-year, $75 million deal he signed with the Cardinals heading into 2024, and he went through this exact process once before when Chaim Bloom, then with St. Louis, came to him at the end of last season wanting to trade him.
Gray sent Bloom a list of teams he would consider and went from there, a process that ultimately landed him in Boston.
The Contract Complication
The financial structure is not simple.
When Gray was traded from St. Louis to Boston, he restructured his contract to pay him a $31 million salary this season with a $10 million buyout on a $30 million mutual option for 2027.
The Cardinals kicked in $20 million to cover roughly half of the one-year commitment, meaning a new team would owe the prorated portion of the remaining $11 million in salary plus the $10 million buyout.
The Red Sox could include cash in any deal to offset the expenditure for a trade partner.
Sonny Gray is open to talk about waiving his NTC status if the Red Sox become sellers at the deadline. Per @timbhealey
— Matthew Crory (@matthewcrory) June 22, 2026
“If someone came to me from the Red Sox and made a decision that that’s the direction that this team was going to go, I would be open for a conversation,”… pic.twitter.com/RhCHF7FZhs
The mutual option will not be viewed by acquiring teams as a possible extension of club control, since it has been 12 years since both parties exercised a mutual option in MLB.
Boston's deep young rotation, headlined by Payton Tolle, Connelly Early, and Jake Bennett, with Garrett Crochet on the upswing and Brayan Bello working back at Triple-A, means the Red Sox do not need Gray for the rest of the year if they pivot toward next season.
