{"id":168593,"date":"2026-03-24T11:48:05","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T11:48:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=168593"},"modified":"2026-03-24T11:48:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T11:48:05","slug":"red-sox-get-great-sign-from-3-time-all-star-just-before-opening-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=168593","title":{"rendered":"Red Sox Get Great Sign From 3-Time All-Star Just Before Opening Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"overflow-hidden\" data-lead-image=\"true\"><picture><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"undefined w-full\" title=\"Feb 17, 2026; Lee County, FL, USA;Boston Red Sox pitcher Sonny Gray (54) poses for a photo during media day at JetBlue Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_503,w_3767,h_2118\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/inside_the_red_sox\/01kmdwnnkvxw3xxdng3w.jpg\" alt=\"Feb 17, 2026; Lee County, FL, USA;Boston Red Sox pitcher Sonny Gray (54) poses for a photo during media day at JetBlue Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images\" width=\"3767\" height=\"2118\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"flex items-center gap-4 mt-4 text-grey font-group-tiny\" data-lead-image=\"true\">Feb 17, 2026; Lee County, FL, USA;Boston Red Sox pitcher Sonny Gray (54) poses for a photo during media day at JetBlue Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images<\/div>\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\">Because of how long ago he was acquired, it might be lost upon some Boston Red Sox fans how important an addition Sonny Gray was this offseason.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\">Coming into the winter, it felt essential for the Red Sox to add a starting pitcher who could unquestionably take the ball in a playoff game. They added two, and Gray, though perhaps he hasn&#8217;t performed as well as Ranger Su\u00e1rez over the last couple of seasons, has a stellar overall track record.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\">The three-time All-Star had an up-and-down spring, which may have been expected heading into his age-36 season. But like many veterans, he knows how to turn it on at the right time, and his final spring start was a fantastic omen for the Red Sox.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\"><em>If you like our content,\u00a0<\/em>choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google<em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-4\">Gray strikes out nine, looks primed for big March\/April<\/h2>\n<figure><figcaption><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_900,w_8640,h_4860\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/inside_the_red_sox\/01kmdx557v6hn79m5yr4.jpg\" alt=\"Gray\" \/>Sep 24, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) strikes out San Francisco Giants first baseman Bryce Eldridge (not pictured) for his two hundredth strike out for the season during the fifth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images | Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\">In the Red Sox&#8217;s Sunday win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, Gray got through six solid innings on just 78 pitches, allowed two earned runs, and struck out nine batters, after punching out just seven in his first three starts of the spring.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\">The right-hander reported that he felt goosebumps walking off the mound, as if he was anticipating the big season he and his team were about to have.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\">\u201cI felt it today,\u201d said Gray, per Alex Speier and Peter Abraham of <em>The Boston Globe<\/em>. \u201cI get chills now (talking about it). I felt it again. That\u2019s what we\u2019re always chasing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\">What the Red Sox expect from Gray: innings, strikeouts, a steady hand, some veteran leadership, and most of all, enough durability to ensure that if they make it back to October, he&#8217;s ready to go for one of the first three games.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\">It sounds as though Gray was thrilled to have the opportunity to join the Red Sox, seeing as he greenlit the trade there from the St. Louis Cardinals, because those objectives are on his mind, too.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\">&#8220;I look at it as a great opportunity, and I never take it for granted,\u201d said Gray. \u201cI just love to compete and I love to win, and I will just continue to push and continue to strive, no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Feb 17, 2026; Lee County, FL, USA;Boston Red Sox pitcher Sonny Gray (54) poses for a photo during media day at JetBlue Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168596,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-168593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Red Sox Get Great Sign From 3-Time All-Star Just Before Opening Day - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=168593\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Red Sox Get Great Sign From 3-Time All-Star Just Before Opening Day - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Feb 17, 2026; Lee County, FL, USA;Boston Red Sox pitcher Sonny Gray (54) poses for a photo during media day at JetBlue Park. 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