CINCINNATI (AP) — arrives in Cincinnati.His father tried out for the Reds and failed to make the cut Devin Mesoraco Jersey , but remained a huge fan. Gray attended his first major league game at Great American Ball Park, and he knows about the town’s affinity for a unique style of chili.The starter also knows that Great American is akin to Yankee Stadium, where he struggled mightily last season. Gray agreed to a trade from the Yankees anyway, along with a $38 million, four-year contract adding $30.5 million in guaranteed money from 2020-22.The deal announced Monday includes a $12 million club option for 2023 that could increase the value to $50 million for five seasons and has additional performance bonuses for innings and escalators.“The relationships just felt right,” Gray said during a conference call Tuesday.The Reds made their third offseason move to upgrade their troublesome rotation on Monday, sending infield prospect Shed Long and a high pick in this year’s amateur draft to the Yankees in exchange for the 29-year-old Gray and left-hander Reiver Sanmartin. New York then sent Long to Seattle for 21-year-old outfielder Josh Stowers.New York got Gray from Oakland in July 2017, but that relationship didn’t work out. He was dropped from the rotation in August and finished 15-16 with a 4.52 ERA overall for New York.Gray had a 3.17 ERA on the road last season and 6.98 at Yankee Stadium. He’s moving to a ballpark that has been among the majors’ most homer-friendly every season since it opened in 2003.“That never factored in to my decision,” Gray said. “I’m not huge into that type of stuff. I think if you can pitch and you’re comfortable pitching somewhere, honestly you can go out and get the job done, for sure.”He can’t explain why his results were so much worse at Yankee Stadium.“I’m not going to lie: I felt comfortable taking the mound,” he said. “I felt good. It just didn’t work out. I don’t know. I don’t have an answer for that.”He felt comfortable joining the Reds in part because he’ll be reunited with pitching coach Derek Johnson, who was his coach at Vanderbilt. Plus, Gray was encouraged that the Reds are trying to resurrect themselves from four straight seasons with at least 94 losses. They’ve also traded for starters Tanner Roark and Alex Wood http://www.metsfanproshop.com/authentic-tim-tebow-jersey , giving their rotation an overhaul.The Reds spent the last three seasons relying on young starters to emerge, but most of them struggled mightily. The three newcomers will join Anthony DeSclafani as a foursome with significant major league experience.“It’s just some guys who have been around and know how to win and know the whole process, know what it takes to get through a whole season,” Gray said.Gray’s lifelong bond with the Reds also contributed to his decision.His father, Jesse, was a Reds fan growing up in Tennessee and tried out for their farm system but wasn’t chosen. His father usually wore a Reds cap and took Gray to his first major league game at Great American. He remembers trying the city’s version of chili — a Mediterranean-style meat sauce over spaghetti topped with cheese.“It was a thing,” Gray said. “I remember that — some crazy little chili concoction that was delicious.”Gray made the 2015 All-Star Game in Cincinnati but didn’t pitch because he’d started the previous Sunday for Oakland. He started at Great American for the Athletics on June 10, 2016, and gave up five hits, two runs and no homers in 7 2/3 innings of a 2-1 loss.Now he gets to pitch for the favorite team of his father, who died in a highway accident.“So I know he’s looking down with the biggest smile on his face right now,” Gray said.Gray had agreed to a $7.5 million, one-year deal with the Yankees. The new contract adds a $500,000 signing bonus Pedro Martinez Jersey , annual salaries of $10 million from 2020-22, the option and $500,000 in annual performance bonuses for innings: $100,000 each for 150 innings and each additional 10 through 190.His salaries from 2020 on, including the option price, would increase by $2 million for each Cy Young Award, $1 million for every second- or third-place finish, $750,000 for each fourth- or fifth-place finish, and $500,000 for each sixth-through-10th-place finish. They would go up by $2 million for each MVP Award, $1 million for every second-or-third-place finish and $750,000 for each fourth- or fifth-place finish, and by $200 Max Kepler Jersey ,000 for each All-Star selection. The option price also could escalate by $600,000 for innings in 2022: $100,000 for 150 and each additional 10 through 200.Gray also can earn award bonuses and would get $1 million each time he is traded. KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Sometimes uneventful is a good thing.“This has been a great winter for me,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said Friday at the Royals’ FanFest. “It all started with the progress we made at the end of last year. I felt good about where we ended. It was just a great winter.”Two years ago at FanFest, team members and staff had just returned from pitcher Yordano Ventura’s funeral after he was killed in a car accident in the Dominican Republic.“It feels like yesterday. I still miss him dearly,” pitcher Danny Duffy said.Last year, the question was whether Yost would be ready to manage after a near-fatal fall from a deer stand on his ranch outside Atlanta. He fell 20 feet when the strap that held the deer stand to the tree came loose. If he hadn’t had his cellphone with him, he probably would have bled to death.“I knew I was hurt, but I didn’t know how much,” Yost said recently. “I sat there for five minutes and tried to move, but I couldn’t. My legs felt they weighed 15,000 pounds. My pelvis was split in two. There was no moving. Even if I could have crawled, there was no getting up on the four-wheeler. If I didn’t have my cellphone Zach Duke Jersey , that would have been it.”What followed was a long recovery period. Even though he walked around FanFest in 2018, it wasn’t until late in the season that he walked without pain.There’s still plenty of uncertainty this year.The Royals have chosen a different path in rebuilding than some other teams. Instead of completely imploding everything and stocking draft picks, the Royals have tried to go against the prevailing trend in baseball to be competitive while the next group of stars develops in the minor leagues.That system worked a few years ago when the likes of Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Duffy grew-and won-together in the minor leagues. This time, the Royals are choosing to build a track team when the rest of baseball is devaluing the element of speed.The Royals have built a virtual sprint-relay team. They brought back Terrance Gore, who was a part of their 2014 and 2015 championship teams as a pinch runner. They also signed free-agent Billy Hamilton, whose trademark is speed and defense.“Speed and defense are really important for us at Kauffman Stadium,” general manager Dayton Moore said. “We’re going to take advantage of that. We like that style of play and our fans like that style of play. Plus it gives us an advantage, because a lot of teams aren’t built that way.”Yost is excited about the start of the season.“I was so enthused with the progress we made in the last half of last season,” he said.
