According to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser, A’s pitcher Sonny Gray will be out for the first three weeks of the regular season. Slusser announced on Twitter Thursday the delay was due to a lat strain.
With Gray out the first 3 weeks or so of the regular season, Kendall Graveman the likely Opening Night starter though Melvin does not say so
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) March 9, 2017
The 2015 All-Star was once talked about as a possible Cy Young Award winner during the same season when he posted a 3.08 ERA with 169 strikeouts in 208 innings.
Since then, however, it’s been a bit of a roller-coaster story for the 27-year-old.
Starting off 2015 he, along with then teammate Rich Hill, performed well enough to be considered strong trade candidates. That fairy tale only worked out for Hill, who is now with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Over the last two seasons, Gray posted a 3.79 ERA with 263 total strikeouts in 325 innings. His walk rate also increased from 2015 where he sat at a 2.55 BB/9 ratio. He left a 3.23 walk rate behind him last season. He’s not a strikeout pitcher by any means, but even his groundball numbers changed over the last couple of seasons, which is what he is known for.
This is just unfortunate news on top of what has already been a disappointing story for a pitcher with so much promise.