Not everybody desires to get up within the metropolis that by no means sleeps.
Veteran right-hander Sonny Grey has returned to the American League East as a member of the Boston Pink Sox, acquired final week in a commerce with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Launched to the media Tuesday morning, the previous New York Yankee mirrored on his turbulent tenure in The Bronx and emphasised his pleasure to be on the opposite aspect of essentially the most historic rivalry in sports activities.
“I by no means needed to go there within the first place,” mentioned Grey, who waived his no-trade clause to affix the Pink Sox.
“It feels good to me to go to a spot the place it’s straightforward to hate the Yankees.”
The Yankees acquired Grey, now 36, from the Oakland Athletics lower than an hour earlier than the commerce deadline in 2017.
The previous All-Star was gone after the next season, shipped to the Cincinnati Reds after posting a brutal 4.51 ERA throughout 34 whole begins in Pinstripes.
He signed a three-year extension with the Reds and swiftly regained his ace-level type within the Queen Metropolis, delivering a dominant 2019 marketing campaign that noticed him end seventh in Cy Younger voting.
Grey went on to spend a number of seasons with the Minnesota Twins earlier than touchdown with the Cardinals, and he capped his second yr with St. Louis by holding a 4.28 ERA with 201 strikeouts throughout 32 begins.
He admitted to reporters Tuesday that he appreciated his time with the Yankees, regardless of the disappointing expertise.
“I’ve been a greater baseball participant, husband, all the pieces from having that have and going via that,” he mentioned.
Grey isn’t the primary former Yankee to vocalize his distaste for the franchise after becoming a member of their biggest rival.
Simply a few months in the past, flame-throwing nearer Aroldis Chapman — who spent components of seven seasons in New York from 2016-22 — asserted that he would relatively dangle up his cleats than return to the membership.
“No method, not even useless,” Chapman mentioned on a podcast, as translated from Spanish. “If I have been advised that I used to be being traded to New York, I’d pack my issues and go house. I’ll retire proper on the spot if that occurs. I’m not loopy. By no means once more.”
The Yankees and Pink Sox added one other thrilling chapter to their storied rivalry throughout the 2025 postseason, when the Bronx Bombers eradicated Boston in Recreation 3 behind a stunning efficiency from Massachusetts-born rookie starter Cam Schlittler — who added gas to the hearth by trolling opposing followers within the following weeks.
It appears as if the stress has continued to escalate within the early phases of the offseason.
