On Tuesday, the Boston Red Sox acquired starting pitcher Sonny Gray from the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Richard Fitts and prospect Brandon Clarke.<\/p>\n
There’s some debate as to whether or not Gray is a true No. 2 pitcher or a high-end No. 3, but no matter what the perception of him is, he’s a guy who comes to Boston with a real resume and pedigree.<\/p>\n
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A three-time All-Star, he finished second in the American League Cy Young voting in 2023. He’s been successful at just about every stop he’s been in, from Oakland to Cincinnati to Minnesota to St. Louis.<\/p>\n
Unless the Red Sox make an unexpected move for another starting pitcher, it looks like he’ll pair with Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello at the top of the Boston rotation.<\/p>\n
As noted by ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney, this gives the Red Sox an extremely groundball-heavy rotation.<\/p>\n
Last season, Bryan Bello posted a groundball % of 49.8 — 10th best in the majors. Garrett Crochet was at 48.3%, 11th best. Now the Red Sox add Sonny Gray, whose GB % was 43.9, the 19th best in the big leagues.<\/i><\/p>\n
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As noted in the video player above:<\/p>\n
So \u200bthe \u200bRed \u200bSox \u200bclearly \u200bhave \u200ba \u200brotation \u200bthat \u200bis \u200bfull \u200bof \u200bground \u200bball \u200bmerchants. \u200bThe \u200bquestion \u200bis \u200bwhy? \u200bIs \u200bthis \u200bkind \u200bof \u200ba \u200bhappy \u200baccident? Just \u200bin \u200bterms \u200bof: this \u200bis \u200bwho \u200bthe \u200bRed \u200bSox \u200balready \u200bhad, \u200b\u200band \u200bthey \u200bwent \u200bout \u200band \u200bgot \u200ba guy who \u200bthey \u200bthought \u200bwas \u200bthe \u200bbest \u200bpitcher \u200bavailable, \u200bwho \u200balso \u200bjust \u200bhappens \u200bto \u200bbe \u200bgood \u200bat \u200bgetting \u200bground \u200bballs? \u200bOr \u200bis \u200bthis \u200ba \u200bconscious \u200beffort \u200bby \u200bthe \u200bRed \u200bSox \u200bto \u200b\u200bcombat \u200ba \u200bcouple \u200bof \u200btrends \u200bthat \u200bmight \u200bbe \u200bworking \u200bagainst \u200bthem? \u200bRight?<\/i><\/p>\n
\u200bMajor \u200bLeague \u200bBaseball \u200boffensive \u200bplayers \u200bare \u200btrying \u200bto \u200bhit \u200bthe \u200bball \u200bin \u200bthe \u200bair \u200bmore \u200bthan \u200bever \u200bbefore. \u200bHitting \u200bcoaches \u200bare \u200bteaching \u200blaunch \u200bangle. \u200bThey \u200bare \u200bteaching \u200bhow \u200bto \u200bget \u200bthe \u200bball \u200bin \u200bthe \u200bair. \u200bAre \u200bthe \u200bRed \u200bSox \u200bmaking \u200ba \u200bdirect \u200b\u200beffort \u200bto \u200bhalt \u200bthat, \u200bto \u200bbeat \u200bthat? \u200bAre \u200bthey \u200bmaking \u200ba \u200bdirect \u200beffort \u200bto \u200bget \u200bhitters \u200bto \u200bhit \u200bthe \u200bball \u200bon \u200bthe \u200bground, \u200bbecause \u200b\u200bit’s a \u200blot \u200bharder \u200bto \u200bbe \u200bbeaten \u200bwhen \u200bthe \u200bball \u200bis \u200bon \u200bthe \u200bground \u200bversus \u200bin \u200bthe \u200bair?<\/i><\/p>\n
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\u200bSecondly, \u200bare \u200bthe \u200bRed \u200bSox \u200balso \u200blooking \u200bto \u200bkind \u200bof \u200bmitigate \u200bthe \u200beffects \u200bof \u200btheir \u200bdivision? \u200bToronto \u200bis \u200ba \u200bhitters \u200bhaven. \u200bYankee \u200bStadium \u200bis \u200ba \u200bhitter’s \u200bhaven. \u200bEven \u200bFenway \u200bis \u200ba \u200bhitter’s \u200bhaven, \u200bat \u200bleast \u200bin \u200bterms \u200bof \u200bto \u200bleft \u200bfield \u200band \u200bright \u200bfield \u200bdown \u200bthe \u200blines. \u200bRight? \u200bBalls \u200bthat \u200bget \u200bhit \u200bin \u200bthe \u200bair \u200bin \u200bthis \u200bdivision \u200bgo \u200bout \u200bof \u200bthe \u200bballpark. \u200bAre \u200bthe \u200bRed \u200bSox \u200blooking \u200bto \u200bsay, \u200b’hey, \u200bwe \u200bknow \u200bthis, \u200bso \u200blet’s \u200bgo \u200bget \u200bguys \u200bwho \u200bget \u200bthe \u200bball \u200bon \u200bthe \u200bground, because \u200bit \u200bwill \u200bmitigate \u200bthe \u200beffects \u200bof \u200bplaying \u200bin \u200bthis \u200bdivision \u200bin \u200bthese \u200bhomer \u200bhappy \u200bballparks? \u200bIt’s \u200ba \u200bvery \u200binteresting \u200bstrategy \u200band \u200bI’d \u200blove \u200bto \u200bknow \u200bthe \u200breasoning \u200bbehind \u200bit. \u200bIs \u200bit \u200bintentional \u200bor \u200bcoincidence?<\/i><\/p>\n
The Red Sox will reconvene with the rest of the baseball world at the winter meetings from Dec. 7-10.<\/p>\n
SOX ACQUIRE SONNY<\/b>: The Red Sox have traded Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke for right-hander Sonny Gray. Here’s what you need to know. CLICK HERE:<\/p>\n
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NARVAEZ to WBC?:<\/b> Could Carlos Narvaez represent his native Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic? CLICK HERE:<\/p>\n
CASAS FUTURE:<\/b> Alex Cora says that the Red Sox are not giving up on Triston Casas, but they’ll have the opportunity to show that this offseason. Will they take it? CLICK HERE:<\/p>\n
Remember to join our RED SOX on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Red Sox fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that’s free too!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Boston Red Sox: Ground ball merchants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":125616,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[47,1890,757,730,1398,481,1476,1233,263,501,72,2423,723],"class_list":["post-125615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","tag-boston-red-sox","tag-brandon-clarke","tag-brayan-bello","tag-carlos-narvaez","tag-cincinnati","tag-garrett-crochet","tag-minnesota","tag-richard-fitts","tag-sonny-gray","tag-st-louis","tag-st-louis-cardinals","tag-starting-pitcher","tag-triston-casas"],"yoast_head":"\n