Although the Oakland Athletics are never in 'rebuild' mode, they are always looking to maximize their assets. Their biggest asset? Sonny Gray.
While it's highly unlikely the A's would look to deal the right-handed ace (who won't hit arbitration until 2017), the Texas Rangers checked in on Gray last summer, according to Evan Grant at the Dallas Morning News.
In Grant's piece, he notes that the Rangers will look to add stability to the rotation and could look outside the organization, citing a quote from GM Jon Daniels:
"I remember reading a quote a couple of years ago, 'I you don't have enough pitching in April you're almost definitely not going to have it in September','' Daniels said. "That's the case. So I would expect this winter, between Colby and Yovani and/or somebody outside the organization that we will look to add some stability to the rotation."
Any deal to acquire Gray, who was a rookie in 2013, would require a loot of high-end prospects and/or young major league players. Names that come to mind are Joey Gallo, Chi Chi Gonzalez, Leonys Martin and Jurickson Profar.
Gray was a first-time All-Star in 2015, going 14-7 with a 2.73 ERA for the last-place Athletics.
