MLB trade rumors: Indians evaluating Athletics’ Sonny Gray

The Indians are among the clubs evaluating Athletics starter Sonny Gray, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney.

Cleveland is the latest team to be linked to Gray in trade rumors, joining the Braves, Cubs, Yankees, Astros and Brewers. He is the most coveted rotation arm left on the trade market now that Jose Quintana has been traded to the Cubs, and is considered a relatively likely candidate to be dealt before the end of the month.

Cleveland currently has Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Josh Tomlin, Carlos Carrasco and Mike Clevinger in its rotation mix, though Bauer and Tomlin have struggled all season. The club is missing Danny Salazar and Cody Anderson, who are both on the disabled list, and could probably look to add a starter for the stretch run.

Gray, of course, is under control for two more seasons after this one, meaning he will be a cost-effective option for a club like Cleveland that likely doesn’t have a whole lot of payroll room. A package would likely be headlined by catcher Francisco Mejia, who is at Double-A.