Twins Star, Orioles Target Turns Down Qualifying Offer
A star pitcher that the Baltimore Orioles have been connected to in free agency turned down his one-year qualifying offer from the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
Sonny Gray, who helped the Twins win the American League Central and win a playoff series for the first time since 2002, turned down a guaranteed $20.325 million in 2024 to pursue a long-term extension.
Among the teams that have been connected to Gray are the Orioles, who are losing two veteran free agent pitchers in Kyle Gibson and Jack Flaherty. But, they have an impressive young core of starters to build around in Dean Kremer, Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez and Tyler Wells.
That group helped Baltimore win 101 games and the AL East in 2023.
Gray might position the Orioles to do more in 2024.
He is 33 and has played 11 Major League seasons, as he broke in with Oakland in 2013 and has also played with the New York Yankees, the Cincinnati Reds and the Minnesota Twins.
He’s made three All-Star teams and has finished in the Top 10 of Cy Young voting twice.
Gray has spent the past two seasons with the Twins, where he went a combined 16-13 with a 2.90 ERA. In 2023, in helping the Twins win the AL Central, he went 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA in 32 starts. He allowed an MLB-low 0.4 home runs per nine innings.
The right-hander has a career record of 98-85 with a 3.47 ERA, including 1,521 strikeouts and 544 walks in 1,571 innings pitched.
It wasn’t a surprise that Gray turned down the offer to pursue a long-term deal. Only seven players received the qualifying offer this offseason, and only 13 of the 124 players that have received it since 2012 have accepted it.
The Twins are entitled to draft pick compensation if Gray signs with another team. That pick could come between the first round and Competitive Balance Round A, after Competitive Balance Round B, which follows the second round, or after the fourth round, depending upon who signs Gray.
