Overview
- At the Winter Meetings, Brian Cashman detailed a 2018 post-deadline meeting in which he says Gray told him he hated New York and never wanted to be there.
- Cashman said Gray had earlier relayed interest in joining the Yankees through team contacts from his Oakland days and later attributed that to advice from agent Bo McKinnis to protect free-agency value.
- McKinnis rejected Cashman’s account, saying he never told Gray to lie and asserting Gray never said he wanted out of Oakland.
- Gray, traded to Boston from St. Louis last month after waiving a no-trade provision, said at his Red Sox introduction that he never wanted to go to New York and that it is easy to hate the Yankees.
- The public dispute adds spice to the rivalry as the Yankees visit Fenway Park on April 21-23 and host Boston on June 5-7 in 2026.