Updated – January 21, 4:39 PM

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the deal has evolved into a three-way trade, with the Yankees are now sending their new acquisition, Shed Long, to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for 21-year-old center field prospect Josh Stowers.

Stowers hit .260/.380/.410 with 15 doubles, five home runs, and 28 runs batted in over 244 plate appearances for Advanced-A Everett in 2018.

Updated – January 21, 4:33 PM

As per Jeff Passan of ESPN, the trade sending Sonny Gray to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for infield prospect Shed Long has been completed.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Gray, 29, signed a three-year, $30.5 million extension with the Reds with a $12 million club option for 2023, plus incentives.

Jon Heyman of FanCred Sports was first to report the two teams close to finalizing the deal on Saturday (link below).

Original Post – January 20, 12:57 PM

According to reports, the New York Yankees have agreed to trade right-handed pitcher Sonny Gray to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for infield prospect Shed Long and a supplemental pick between the first and second rounds of next year’s draft.

The nearing of the deal’s finalization was first reported by Jon Heyman of FanCred Sports on Saturday.

On Sunday, reports began to dribble out regarding the Reds intention to sign Gray to an extension before consummation of the deal, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. A short while later, Heyman confirmed Rosenthal’s report, as well as the finality of the return headed back to New York.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported on Friday that the Reds were “making progress in pursuit of” the 29-year-old hurler, noting that Gray and new Cincinnati pitching coach Derek Johnson have a history of working together.

Johnson was Gray’s pitching coach at Vanderbilt University, with their progress culminating in a 12-4 record with a 2.43 ERA in his junior year, leading the Commodores to their first-ever College World Series berth in 2010.

Gray spent the first four-plus years of his major-league career with the Oakland Athletics after being drafted in the first round (18th overall) in the 2011 MLB Draft by the team, pitching to a 3.42 ERA with a 3.56 fielding independent pitching rating, 1.200 WHIP, and a 2.70 strikeouts-to-walks ratio over 114 appearances (112 starts).

After a mid-season trade to the Yankees in 2017, Gray’s once-promising career took a sharp downturn. The 29-year-old righty performed adequately immediately following the trade, putting up a 3.72 ERA over 11 starts to finish the 2017 season, but the success did not sustain.

Last season was not kind to the Smyrna, Tennessee native. Gray pitched to a 4.90 ERA (his highest mark since a 5.69 ERA in 2016) with 1.496 WHIP, a 4.17 FIP rating, and a career-low 2.16 strikeouts-to-walks ratio. He was demoted to the bullpen before season’s end.

After being quite outspoken in his attempts to trade his beleaguered, enigmatic right-hander, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman apparently found the return he was looking for.

Shed Long, a 23-year-old second baseman and part-time catcher from Birmingham, Alabama, is considered the centerpiece of the deal. Over six minor-league seasons, Long has a .272/.353/.435 slash line with 50 home runs, 211 runs batted in, 445 doubles, and just 403 strikeouts in 1,863 MiLB plate appearances.

Heading into the 2018 season, Long was ranked as the sixth-best second base prospect in baseball and MLB Pipeline currently has him ranked as the seventh-best prospect in the Reds’ system.