The Chicago Cubs made a big splash to start trading season on Thursday - and they may not be done just yet.
Despite grabbing Jose Quintana from the crosstown White Sox in a blockbuster deal on Thursday, the Cubs reportedly still have interest in Oakland Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network.
Like Quintana, who's under club control through 2020 when including a pair of options, Gray still has a ways to go before free agency, with two years of arbitration eligibility remaining after this season. That control is one reason the Cubs are apparently still chasing the Vanderbilt product, Morosi added, as he would be locked in to fill a rotation spot at Wrigley Field for at least the next two years.
Chicago will need to fill at least one more hole in its rotation after this year, when both Jake Arrieta and John Lackey become free agents.
Gray struggled through an injury-shortened 2016 season, but has looked a little more like his old All-Star self since returning from the disabled list in May. The 27-year-old does have an elevated 4.00 ERA and 1.21 WHIP, but his strikeout numbers have spiked (74 strikeouts, 8.5 K/9) and he's also walking fewer batters compared to his last few seasons.
Despite the wishes of Athletics manager Bob Melvin, there appears to be multiple suitors lining up to try to acquire Gray. In addition to the Cubs, teams reportedly interested in landing Gray include the Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, and the Milwaukee Brewers - who enter the second half holding a surprising 5 1/2-game lead on both the Cubs and Cardinals in the NL Central.
The Athletics and Cubs have something of a recent history of deadline deals involving pitchers. In July 2014, with the Cubs then in the midst of a rebuild and Oakland en route to a playoff berth, president Theo Epstein sent right-handers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to the A's for a package of prospects that included future All-Star shortstop Addison Russell.
