Cashman: Gray expressed desire to play for Yankees to raise value - ESPN

ORLANDO, Fla. — Brian Cashman says Sonny Gray admitted he expressed a desire to play in New York at the behest of his agent so as not to harm his free-agency value and didn't voice his dislike of the Big Apple until after the 2018 trade deadline had passed.

After his arrival for Major League Baseball's winter meetings, the longtime New York Yankees general manager was asked about Gray, who was acquired by the Boston Red Sox in a trade from the St. Louis Cardinals last month. The veteran starter spoke of his 1 1/2 seasons in New York during a Zoom news conference on Dec. 2, announcing the signing.

«New York was, it just wasn't a good situation for me, wasn't a great setup for me and my family,» he said. «I never wanted to go there in the first place.»

Gray was traded from Oakland to the Yankees in July 2017 and went 15-16 with a 4.52 ERA with New York. He was dropped from the rotation in August 2018 after he smirked when fans booed as he walked off the Yankee Stadium mound in the third inning of a 7-5 loss to Baltimore. He was dealt to Cincinnati in January 2019.

«After the deadline was over, he asked to meet with me. He said, 'Hey, can we talk?'» Cashman said Sunday night after arriving at the winter meetings.

Cashman recalled meeting with Gray in the clubhouse office of Chad Bohling, the Yankees' senior director of organizational performance.

«He said, 'I thought you were going to trade me,'» Cashman said. «I was like, publicly I'm out trying to get pitching, starting pitching and bullpen. Why would I trade a starter when we need pitching badly?… And he goes, 'Well I got to tell you, I've never wanted to -' that's when he told me he never wanted to be here. He hates New York. This is the worst place. He just sits in his