CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Reds President of Baseball Operations Dick Williams Monday announced the acquisitions of right-handed pitcher Sonny Gray and left-handed pitcher Reiver Sanmartin (pronounced REEVER san-mar-TEEN) from the New York Yankees in exchange for infielder Shed Long and the Reds’ 2019 Competitive Balance A draft pick.
Williams also announced that Gray, who would have been eligible for free agency following the 2019 season, has agreed to terms on a 3-year contract extension through the 2022 season, with a club option for 2023.
Gray, 29, will be reunited with new Reds pitching coach Derek Johnson, who worked on the Vanderbilt University coaching staff when Gray pitched there from 2009-2011.
Gray finished his career ranked second all-time at the school in wins (27) and fourth in team history in strikeouts (317).
In 2011, he helped lead the Commodores to their first NCAA College World Series berth after finishing 12-4 with a 2.43 ERA.
In 2015, when he went 14-7 with a 2.73 ERA in 31 starts for the Oakland Athletics, Gray was an American League All-Star and finished third in the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s Cy Young Award voting.
He did not pitch in the AL’s 6-3 win in the All-Star Game at Great American Ball Park.
A first-round draft pick of the Athletics in the June 2011 first-year player draft (18th overall), Gray is 59-52 with a 3.66 ERA in 146 career starts and 9 relief appearances and won at least 10 games in 4 of his 5 full Major League seasons.
Last season he ranked third on the Yankees’ staff with 11 wins, and he has posted a sterling 2.95 ERA in four career Postseason appearances, all starts (21.1ip, 14h, 12bb, 18k, 2hr).
Sanmartin, 22, in July 2015 was signed by the Texas Rangers as a non-drafted free agent. In his minor league career, he is 19-11 with a 2.68 ERA in 33 starts and 12 relief appearances with 177 strikeouts and just 28 walks in 205.0 innings pitched.
Long, 23, was selected by the Reds in the 12th round of the June 2013 first-year player draft. In his 6 minor league seasons he hit .272 in 457 games.
In 2018, his first full season above Class A, he hit .261 in 126 appearances at Pensacola in the Southern League.