The Atlanta Braves are moving on to their backup plan after their efforts to sign Aaron Nola away from the Philadelphia Phillies fell short.
The Braves are now one of the “top suitors” for free-agent pitcher Sonny Gray, according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com. Gray is one of the top free agents left on the market, and the Braves are clearly in the market for a front-line starter.
Nola agreed on Sunday to a huge contract to remain with the Phillies, which was unwelcome news for Atlanta. The Braves were one of two teams said to be strongly pursuing Nola prior to that decision.
Gray would be a perfectly sound backup plan from Atlanta’s perspective. In 32 starts for Minnesota last year, he went 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA. Those numbers were good enough to make him runner-up in AL Cy Young voting.
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