Sonny Gray Embraces the Rivalry, and Red Sox Fans Are Here for It
If Sonny Gray wanted to make a strong first impression in Boston, mission accomplished. The veteran right-hander met with reporters Tuesday for the first time since being traded to the Red Sox from the St. Louis Cardinals, and he wasted no time leaning into the city’s most sacred baseball tradition: hating the Yankees.
“It’s easy to hate the Yankees, right?” Gray said with a smile. “It’s easy to go out and have that rivalry and go in it with full force, full steam ahead.”
That quote alone is enough to win over a chunk of Red Sox Nation. But there’s more to Gray’s stance than just playing to the crowd-this is personal.
Let’s rewind to 2017. Gray was traded from the Oakland A’s to the Yankees at the deadline, a move that never quite clicked.
He posted a 3.72 ERA in 11 starts that year-decent on paper-but the underlying numbers told a different story. A 1.255 WHIP and inconsistent command kept him from ever truly settling in.
The following season, things unraveled. Gray’s ERA ballooned to 4.90 over 30 appearances in 2018, and by August, he was bumped from the rotation in favor of Lance Lynn.
That demotion was the writing on the wall. Five months later, the Yankees shipped him to Cincinnati, and that’s where Gray found himself again. He earned an All-Star nod with the Reds in 2019 and re-established himself as one of the more reliable arms in the league.
Reflecting on his time in New York, Gray didn’t hold back.
“It just wasn’t a good situation for me,” he said. “It wasn’t a great setup for me and my family. I never wanted to go there in the first place.”
That last line hits hard. Gray made it clear that the fit with the Yankees never felt right-not just on the mound, but off it, too.
“I just wasn’t myself,” he continued. “I just didn’t feel like I was allowed to go out there and be Sonny.”
Now, he gets a second act in the AL East-this time in a uniform that feels a little more aligned with his mentality. And yes, that includes 13 matchups against the Yankees in 2026.
For a pitcher with a career 6.06 ERA and 1.644 WHIP in Yankee Stadium, that’s no small mountain to climb. But Gray isn’t backing down from the challenge.
In fact, he welcomes it.
“I do appreciate my time there,” he said. “I do feel like the last seven years of my career, my life and everything has been better. I’ve been a better baseball player, husband, everything from having that experience and going through that.”
That’s the kind of perspective that only comes with time-and scars. Gray’s not running from his past in New York. He’s using it.
“I like the challenge, I appreciate the challenge, I accept the challenge,” he said. “But this time around, it’s just go out and be yourself.”
That’s the version of Sonny Gray the Red Sox are betting on: the one who knows who he is, who’s been through the fire, and who’s ready to pitch with an edge. The first Red Sox-Yankees series of 2026 kicks off April 21, and if Gray gets the ball in that one, don’t expect him to shy away from the moment.
In fact, expect him to lean into it-with full force, full steam ahead.