Sonny Gray has done almost everything the Boston Red Sox could have asked for in his first season with the club. Yet, unfortunately, he plays for a franchise that’s in one of the worst positions in MLB this year. As the Toronto Blue Jays completed a sweep at Fenway Park, the veteran right-hander offered a brutally honest assessment of his team. 

“I can’t speak on behalf of the group, but I can speak on behalf of myself. It’s very frustrating. We’re not good, we’re just not a good team right now, and that’s just a fact,” Gray said after a 4-3 result in the final game against the Blue Jays. 

It was the fourth straight defeat for Boston. And they have lost 8 of their last 10 games. They have been stuck at the bottom of the AL East almost the entire season. And with a 29-43 record, the Red Sox are 15.5 games behind the New York Yankees at the top. What makes it worse is that Boston has a 12-25 record at home. And Sonny Gray has been one of the very few bright spots on the team this season. 

The starter originally signed a three-year, $75 million deal with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2023, before waiving his no-trade clause to join the Red Sox this offseason. The move also set him up to earn a $31 million salary in 2026, with a mutual option for 2027 and a $10 million buyout.

But it’s not just the paychecks. 

Sonny Gray improved his ERA from 4.28 (last season) to 3.12 in 2026 and has a .889 win percentage from 13 starts. That’s a stark contrast to the Red Sox’s numbers from this season. That’s why the 3x All-Star publicly expressed his frustration with his own club. 

He is a very competitive player. And this is not the first time he has reacted negatively to a team. 

Last year, he expressed his discontent with the Yankees (during his 2017-2018 tenure) for making him throw “a s***ty spinning pitch” more often than he was comfortable with. 

“It feels good to me to go to a place where it’s easy to hate the Yankees,” Gray stated after joining the Red Sox. “I never wanted to go there in the first place.”

But as it turned out, he couldn’t enjoy his time with Boston either. And it’s not just him. Veteran Trevor Story has also shared similar concerns. 

“It’s hard to put into words that this is where we’re at,” Story said. “I wouldn’t believe it at all if you told me this at the beginning of the year.”

The Red Sox did try to trigger a change earlier in the season by firing one of their most successful managers, Alex Cora, and 6 other coaches. Unfortunately, since their exit on April 25, the only notable results have been a sweep in Kansas City and a 2-1 series win at Fenway Park against the Texas Rangers last weekend. And there’s some obvious noise surrounding the front office.

The Red Sox face growing pressure as trade deadline nears

Quite naturally, the leadership is facing a lot of heat for how disastrous the season has been despite the offseason overhaul. The President and CEO, Sam Kennedy, addressed the situation, saying, “It’s brutal and truly sort of unthinkable given the expectations.”

But he didn’t put it on the offseason moves. In fact, he backed it up, highlighting how Sonny and a few other recruits have done their best. He is partially right as performances from Ranger Suárez, Aroldis Chapman, and Willson Contreras support his claim. But there are also players like Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Caleb Durbin who aren’t at their expected level. 

That’s why Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow is under a lot of pressure. And the Red Sox still don’t have a plan for the trade deadline. Hence, many of the fans think that they should already raise the white flag and go on a fire sale like 2014. They feel a miraculous comeback from 29-43 is unlikely, and Boston should kickstart their rebuild phase for next season. 

This is where Sonny Gray’s future in the franchise gets a bit complicated. With a $10 million buyout, a trade situation might not be as easy as a typical rental-player scenario. And the Red Sox might have to look toward Chapman and Suárez to make way for new entrants on the roster. 

Whether the team will sell or opt to stand pat, Gray’s comments underscore a tough reality in Boston. One of the best performers on the team doesn’t feel convinced that the Red Sox can turn things around.