New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman turned Sonny Gray into Shed Long who he immediately flipped for Seattle Mariners OF Josh Stowers.
The wizardry of New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman continues.
The Samwell Tarly of Major League Baseball did it again on Monday.
After completing the long-awaited Sonny Gray deal with the Cincinnati Reds, he flipped the return for a completely different, unexpected prospect.
The initial deal saw the Yankees trade Gray to the Reds for second baseman Shed Long. The baseball wizard immediately flipped Long to the Seattle Mariners for outfield prospect Josh Stowers.
We all the know the Sonny Gray story. The 29-year-old righty was acquired from the Oakland Athletics during the 2017 season. Once his dreadful 2018 campaign to a close, Cashman made no secret of the idea that he was a goner.
It’s finally happened. Gray will be reunited with pitching coach Derek Johnson, whom he pitched wonderfully under at Vanderbilt University.
Stowers, 21, is a 2018 second-round product out of Louisville. Playing at Low-A Northwest League last season, the kid collected five home runs and 28 runs batted in while hitting .260. His greatest asset is speed which allows him to flourish on the base paths and in the outfield. Stowers swiped 20 bags a year ago in only 58 games.
Long is a 23-year-old prospect who was a 12th-round pick by the Reds back in 2013. He played 126 games for Double-A Pensacola last season while smacking 12 home runs and collecting 56 runs batted in at a .261 clip.
True wizard or not, nobody saw this Josh Stowers acquisition coming from Brian Cashman. Not a bad return from a Sonny Gray deal everybody knew had to come eventually.
