The Cubs Still In Play On Sonny Gray

When the Cubs acquired Jose Quintana from the White Sox, it was assumed that they were effectively out on guys like Sonny Gray and Justin Verlander. However, despite those initial thoughts, the rumors continue to pour out linking the Cubs to both Verlander and Gray, but also to Yu Darvish, Zach Britton, Pat Neshek, Alex Avila and the list goes on. And while many fans may be frustrated with the constant slew of wild rumors, the fact is, the Cubs ARE continuing to check in on these teams. While other clubs like the Dodgers, Astros, or Yankees may have more attractive pieces to offer, these deals are hard to put together. Just today, Billy Beane and the Athletics, who were almost guaranteed to be moving Gray, have come out and said the 27-year-old righty could end up sticking in Oakland through the winter.

This is why teams like the Cubs, who have already mortgaged their top farm system players for pitching, continue to poke their head into these discussions. Anything can happen, and as Joel Sherman from the New York Post writes, that's exactly what they are doing to Billy Beane and Oakland. Sherman has heard the Cubs referred to as a "Stealth Team", meaning they are still trying to figure out a way to acquire Gray from the Athletics. Now, does this mean they will land the righty? Logic and sources say otherwise, but it does mean the Cubs feel confident they could still make something happen. For the record, there is an overwhelming amount of evidence pointing to why the Cubs cannot or will not trade for Sonny Gray, starting with Ian Happ. He is the piece the A's want the most from the Cubs, and the response from Theo Epstein and the front office has been a 'hard no', according to a source. Along with this, there are a few teams who need another starter, making them possibly desperate for a guy like Gray. Teams like the Yankees or Brewers come to mind, and you could even throw in a team like the Astros in that category. Also, the Cubs traded Eloy Jimenez, who was probably the only other top-tier piece that could have realistically gotten this deal done. On top of all this, Gray has been incredible over the last 30 days, with a 1.37 ERA, 8.24 K/9, and an opposing batting average of .164. He is also generating a ground ball rate of 62.1% and his soft contact is up to 21.2 % during this stretch. Translation: Sonny Gray is showing he is an elite arm, and doing Oakland a real solid in trade negotiations. And just to show how wild this trade deadline season has been, both the Jerry Crasnick tweet above and this tweet broke during the 30 minutes I took to write this article...

If Billy Beane can get the right package, he will pull the trigger, and for what it is worth - very few GMs know the Cubs farm system better than Beane. If he feels the Cubs can put together an offer that can give him some high ceiling pieces for the future, he could find more value in that deal than another. Don't hold your breath Cubs fans....but the trade deadline is coming quick.