Yankees remove Sonny Gray from rotation in favor of deadline acquisition Lance Lynn

Gray, who has a 5.56 ERA this season, was rocked in his final start before being shifted to the bullpen

Remember when Sonny Gray was awesome? He really was. He finished third in AL Cy Young voting in 2015. 

He's a bit different now. Fresh off Gray's latest disaster, his ERA sits at 5.56, his WHIP at 1.52 and his WAR at negative-0.4. He was booed off the mound after giving up seven earned runs in 2 2/3 innings Wednesday. He could be seen laughing as he walked to the dugout, though it was likely nervous embarrassment more than him thinking it's funny that he pitched poorly. 

Almost mercifully, the Yankees announced Thursday that Gray would be moved to the bullpen and newly-acquired righty Lance Lynn would move into the rotation. 

Lynn, 31, was 7-8 with a 5.10 ERA and 1.63 WHIP in his 20 starts with the Twins, so it doesn't appear to be much of an upgrade. Perhaps the change in scenery and being thrown into a pennant race will help push Lynn toward his old self (career 3.53 ERA, which is a 111 ERA+). 

Regardless, it doesn't get any worse than Gray. As for his struggles: 

Gray: I’ve struggled and they’ve given me ample opportunity to figure it out. I continued to grind ... I’m going to go to the pen and continue to try to figure it out #yankees

— Meredith Marakovits (@M_Marakovits) August 2, 2018

Don't expect to see him in non-blowouts any time soon. 

SportsLine simulations actually like the Yankees better by nearly a full win now with Lynn in the rotation over Gray,  pushing them to 103 wins and a 99.8 percent chance of making the playoffs, per analyst Stephen Oh. 

The Yankees begin a four-game series with the first-place Red Sox Thursday night.