Why Red Sox Might Have Tough Time Bringing Sonny Gray Back in Offseason originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
After reports had indicated that Boston Red Sox right-hander Sonny Gray might not want to return to Major League Baseball and decide to hang them up after this past season, newer reports have suggested that the Red Sox's ace from a year ago wants to continue playing.
The Red Sox and Gray have a mutual option, with the expectation that he'll end up as a free agent.
There have hardly ever been mutual options accepted by both sides, so that's something that's going to have to be figured out over the next couple of weeks.
As for what Gray could be looking for, some have also suggested that him returning to Boston might not be that far-fetched because he wants to stay on the East Coast. Gray lives in Nashville, Tennessee, though there are obviously no teams in Tennessee.
“Gray has said he plans to pitch in his age-37 season, hoping to finally get the chance to win his first World Series. The Red Sox will likely be among his primary suitors, though some believe he might prefer to join a team closer geographically to his home in Tennessee,” Mark Feinsand of MLB.com wrote.
When it comes to teams closest to Tennessee, the Atlanta Braves would be one of the first to come to mind. The Braves are always looking to improve on both sides of the baseball as one of the better teams in the game, so it wouldn't be surprising to see them be interested in a guy who's coming off a Cy Young-caliber season.
Some other teams could also make sense, including the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs. The Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals are also closer distance-wise than Boston, among some other teams, so there should be multiple suitors interested.