Yankees Get their Ace in Sonny Gray

The Yankees consistent pursuit of Sonny Gray has finally paid off. The Bronx Bombers were able to acquire Gray from the Oakland A's for minor leaguers Jorge Mateo, James Kaprielian and Dustin Fowler.

This is a huge deal for the Yankees, who have been pretty busy here at the deadline as they are clearly going for a world championship after a tremendous start to the season. What makes this deal even better for the Yankees is that they will have Gray under their control for two more seasons, and he is not a free agent until 2020.

As for the prospects, much had been made about the compensation going back to Oakland. At one point the A's wanted Gleyber Torres and Clint Fraizer in the deal, but the Yankees would not budge. Instead, the A's get three of the Yankees top nine prospects in their farm system. It may seem like a lot to give up, but this is the Yankees we are talking about.

If the Yankees have any hopes of competing with the Indians, Red Sox, Royals and Astros this October, they needed to make a big move and this was it.

The Yankees rotation has been their biggest weakness all season, and in a matter of hours they have improved it with the addition of not only Gray, but Jamie Garcia as well.

Gray will slide into that number one position in the Yankees rotation, with Mashairo Tanaka and CC Sabathia behind him. Jamie Garcia is a reliable fourth starter. With Jordan Montgomery and Luis Severino still in the mix, New York now features a six-man rotation. Not bad at all for a team that ranks sixth in the league in team ERA.

The Yankees had inquired about Texas Rangers starter Yu Darvish, but Gray was the man that Brian Cashman wanted all along.

At this moment it is not known when Gray will get his first Yankees start, since he was scheduled to start for Oakland yesterday, before they pulled him pending this trade. Chance are he'll likely make his Yankees debut this week against the Tigers.