Sonny Gray’s next stop is still up in the air, but one possible landing spot keeps popping up: Atlanta.
The Red Sox have been tied to plenty of conflicting chatter about Gray, with some reports suggesting a return to Boston and others saying that won’t happen. For now, the decision appears to rest with Gray himself, and there’s been previous reporting that he’d prefer to pitch closer to his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. That detail naturally points to a few teams, and the Braves are one of the clearest fits.
Bob Nightengale recently floated the idea of Gray joining Atlanta and pairing with another former Red Sox ace, Chris Sale. As Nightengale put it, “Gray, 37, is defying Father Time with a sensational season with the Red Sox, going 18-5 with a 2.72 ERA.
He also proved once and for all that he can pitch in a major market. He’d be ideal in Atlanta teaming with Chris Sale for a 1-2 old man’s punch,” Bob Nightengale wrote.
If Gray does move on, Boston would be left with a real hole to address. His season was too strong to replace with a simple one-for-one answer, even if there are pitchers who can help shoulder the load. Matching an 18-5 record and a 2.72 ERA is another matter entirely.
At the same time, the Red Sox weren’t counting on Gray alone to carry the staff. Left-hander Garrett Crochet missed much of last season, so Boston doesn’t necessarily need someone to replicate Gray’s exact production. Still, the team would need another right-handed arm capable of getting outs at a high level, and there are options available.
In Other News...
Red Sox Offseason Pitching Hunt Could Lead To One Crucial Trade Match
The Red Sox are heading into an offseason with rotation questions, and Sonny Grays likely departure in free agency only sharpens the need to add more certainty on the mound. With Boston expected to shop for pitching help, the trade market could become just as important as free agency, especially if the club wants someone who can fit into the middle of the rotation and stabilize things quickly.
Seattle is one of the more intriguing places to look. The Mariners have pitchers such as George Kirby and Emerson Hancock who could help Boston, and there is at least a sense that Seattle might listen if it means bolstering its offense in return. For the Red Sox, the appeal is obvious: they have the kind of prospects or young players that could make a deal work, but whether the two sides line up on value is the question hanging over any potential match. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Face A Tough Trade Debate Over Another Big Bat
The Red Sox spent much of the season looking for more thump in the middle of the lineup, so it is no surprise that Teoscar Hernandez has surfaced as an offseason name worth watching. The Dodgers outfielder brings the kind of right-handed power Boston has lacked at times, and his contract structure makes him a more complicated fit than a simple wish-list addition. Any serious pursuit would have to balance the appeal of his recent production against the realities of how much room the Red Sox want to leave themselves to address other needs.
Hernandez also fits into a broader conversation about how aggressive Boston wants to be after another year of weighing talent against payroll flexibility. The club has been linked to big bats before, only to stop short when the cost in money or trade pieces became too steep, and this case appears to carry the same tension. For now, it is less a rumor with momentum than a test of priorities, with the Red Sox trying to decide whether adding another impact hitter is worth the price it would take to get him. [Read more 🡒]
Brayan Bello Gave The Red Sox A Reason To Believe Again
Brayan Bello spent much of 2026 trying to get back to the place the Red Sox always envisioned for him. He opened the year in a difficult spot, lost his hold on the starting rotation, and even had to reset in Triple-A before returning to Boston in a bullpen role. Once he came back, though, the right-hander started to look more like the pitcher the organization has been waiting on, handling long relief with real effectiveness and giving the club a much steadier look on the mound.
By the end of the season, Bello had turned that recovery into something more meaningful. He followed the bullpen stretch with three strong starts, and the underlying indicators moved in the right direction as well, with his strikeout rate and FIP both improving. For a Red Sox team always searching for dependable starting pitching, the late-season run gave them a legitimate reason to think Bello could be back in a full-time rotation role in 2027. [Read more 🡒]