“On paper,” Gray said, “it’s as good as any I have been a part of.”
Gray cautioned several times during a 22-minute, start-of-camp news conference Thursday that he still is getting to know his teammates, including his rotation-mates. But he jump-started the potential bond-forming with ace Garrett Crochet over the offseason when they worked out together at Vanderbilt University, Gray’s alma mater.
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They are wildly different pitchers, Crochet a tall lefthander who brings the heat and Gray a smaller righthander who relies on craftiness and a vast repertoire. But they both like to talk shop and dig into the gory details of pitching, which isn’t true for everyone.
Gray described Crochet as “just as good if not better than anybody in the league.”
“He checks every box as far as this is a guy who would lead your staff,” Gray said. “He reminds me of the guys I’ve been with — whether it’s position player, pitcher, or whatever — the guys who have been and turned into superstars in the league. Carries himself with confidence, smiles, has a good time, ultra competitor. And as far as physical tools, I mean, he’s off the charts.”
The other known members of the starting five are Ranger Suárez and Brayan Bello. The Red Sox hope Bello in particular can learn from Gray, a fellow righthander who throws a bunch of pitches.
“A good addition to a group that needed somebody like that.” manager Alex Cora said of Gray. “I think everybody’s going to benefit from Sonny.”
When Bello took his turn after Gray in live batting practice at JetBlue Park, Gray stuck around, watching from behind the net at home plate (along with Crochet, Suárez, Johan Oviedo, and others).
“He’s gross,” Gray said. “I came away with that impression.”
Cora said: “[Gray was] like, ‘Man, this is really good.’ I’m like, ‘We know.’ He’s still developing … Little by little, he’s becoming very reliable, and hopefully he has a chance to pitch in the playoffs again.”
At 36, Gray comes with an obvious potential risk, that Father Time will come for him and his performance will suffer. The Red Sox, in making a one-year commitment (with a team option for 2027), are betting that won’t happen, at least not this season.
To be sure, Gray has shown little signs of regression in recent years. He made a full 32 starts in 2025, has struck out 200-plus batters in each of the past two seasons, and has decreased his walks-per-nine-innings rate each year since 2020, all the way down to 1.9 most recently.
In many ways, he has resisted aging. He has been an All-Star at ages 25, 29, and 33.
“Pitching just becomes a little easier once you get into your 30s,” Gray said. “At the beginning of my career, I had some really good years, don’t get me wrong, but I didn’t really know what I was doing in the big leagues. I knew how to pitch and I knew how to get people out and everything, but there’s not a lot of other [thoughts going on] — and there’s a beauty to that, as well.
“But now the game just kind of slows down, and you’re able to take all the things you learn … just having a better understanding of the league and how to pitch is big. Changing your arsenal, [understanding] why you throw this, or reading a swing.
“I’ve enjoyed that once I’ve gotten into the latter half of my career. It just slows down. I feel like I’ve understood a lot more things, and I’ve arguably gotten better as I’ve gotten older. So, that’s been nice.”
That reminded Gray of the time in 2015 when David Ortiz listed the five toughest pitchers he had ever faced in The Players’ Tribune. Gray, who had made all of two starts against the Sox to that point, qualified.
“[Ortiz] was like, ‘Yeah, you just don’t know what his ball’s gonna do,’ ” Gray said. “And at the time, I didn’t know what my ball was gonna do. I would just throw a four-seam … I understand what I’m doing a little bit more now.”
Tim Healey can be reached at timothy.healey@globe.com. Follow him @timbhealey.