The Boston Red Sox accomplished a goal of adding another All-Star-level starting pitcher on Tuesday.

The offseason is still very young, and Boston already has acquired three-time All-Star Sonny Gray from the St. Louis Cardinals. Arguably there’s still some more work to do, but a rotation led by Garrett Crochet, Gray, and Brayan Bello is a phenomenal start.

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Gray is a 13-year veteran who has seen it all. The Red Sox will be his sixth big league team. He began his big league career with the Athletics back in 2013 and has since pitched for the New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins, and the Cardinals.

The Red Sox landed a star

Now that Gray will be joining the Red Sox, an old comment from legendary slugger David Ortiz from The Players’ Tribune back in 2015 has resurfaced and should get fans very excited. The story from Ortiz focused on the five toughest pitchers he ever faced.

“The last few seasons, the toughest guy I’ve faced is Sonny Gray from Oakland,” Ortiz wrote. “This kid’s stuff is legit. Normally, I don’t really look at the pitcher on the mound. I mean, I see him standing there, but what I’m paying attention to is his delivery and the way the ball comes out of his hand. The reason is because you want to look at everybody the same. If you see these big guys and you’re thinking about how nasty they are, you’re already out before you take a swing.

“But the first time I see this Gray kid on the mound, I can’t help but notice he’s 5’10” and skinny. He looks like the guy who fixes my computer at the Apple Store. I’m thinking, Here we go. This is gonna be fun. Then he took me for a ride, man. Fastball. Sinker. Slider. Curve … Whap. Whap. Whap. You have no idea what this kid is going to throw. He drives me crazy.”

Ortiz’s list included Pedro Martinez, Mariano Rivera, Mike Mussina, Carter Capps, and Gray. That’s some insanely good company to be a part of.

Gray spent the last two seasons with the Cardinals and had a 4.07 ERA in 60 starts. His last stint in the American League was with the Minnesota Twins in 2022 and 2023. In 2023, Gray had a 2.79 ERA in 32 starts and finished second in the AL Cy Young Award race.

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