Sonny Gray reflects on time with Twins, leaving in free agency

Back at Target Field for the first time in 10 months, Sonny Gray tipped his cap to the crowd and the Twins dugout after watching a tribute video before Friday’s game.

When the Twins were eliminated in the American League Division Series last year, he wasn’t sure if he played his last game in a Twins uniform. He entered free agency for the first time in his career, and he didn’t rule out a return.

Any thoughts about returning, however, were extinguished early in the offseason. The Twins shed payroll and told Gray they wouldn’t be bidders for him before he signed a three-year, $75 million contract with the St. Louis Cardinals.

“I knew pretty early on throughout the free agency process that this wasn’t going to be a place that I was going to come back to,” Gray said. “As much as I did enjoy it here, as much as I liked it here, as much success as we were starting to have and camaraderie as a team, as soon as the qualifying offer was made, I knew.

“They were very transparent from the get-go, saying, ‘Listen, we do not have the resources to give you a contract, as much as we would like to.’ So, I kind of knew that. Even though we did come back a couple of times and try to work on some things, I kind of knew early on that it wasn’t [happening].”

Gray, 34, was appreciative of his two seasons with the Twins, recording a 16-13 record and a 2.90 ERA in 56 starts while helping the club to its first postseason series win in 21 years. His wife and two sons planned to fly to the Twin Cities before his start Saturday.

“Coming here, the way they think about pitching here, the way they talk about pitching, it resonated with me,” said Gray, who was the runner-up in the American League Cy Young voting last season. “I was able to learn a lot here on the other sides, on some things that maybe I hadn’t been told, philosophies and stuff. It was a really good spot for me, so I enjoyed it.”

Gray established a culture for Twins starters that remains in place since his departure. He influenced habits behind the scenes, encouraging starters to throw their bullpens earlier, so they could all watch each other throw before team stretches, and publicly when he voiced his desire to pitch deeper into games.

He will square off against Pablo López in Saturday’s game, one year after he passed the proverbial ace of the staff title to him.

“We both brought so much out of each other, I would say,” Gray said. “Having another guy like him on the staff that was as dominant, it made me better.”

Gray is happy he ended up with the Cardinals, a team that he said was atop his list in free agency. What did he think when the Twins told him about their payroll situation?

“Just being honest and transparent, which is kind of what we were here,” he said. “I think that’s the relationship that me and Rocco [Baldelli], the staff and everyone created. ... Throughout my two years here, I was very open and transparent with them in everything. Everything that goes along with everything. So, they did that with me throughout the free agent thing. They weren’t lying. It wasn’t like they didn’t sign me and then go sign somebody else or go sign all these other dudes. Yeah, it just is what it is.”

Byron Buxton hoped to return to the Twins lineup as soon as he was eligible from the 10-day injured list, but there is still “a little bit” of pain when he runs.

The center fielder feels fine swinging and throwing, but trainers have reminded him to exercise caution as he looks to return.

“They reiterate that to me,” said Buxton, who is dealing with inflammation in his right hip. “One of those things: ‘Don’t try to do anything crazy.’ We are where we are in the season, and there is no place I’d rather be than to be playing. But it’s also that point in not trying to go out there too quick and have another [setback].”

• Alex Kirilloff, who has been out since June 11 with a back injury, started a rehab assignment with the Class AAA St. Paul Saints on Friday and doubled in his first at-bat, helping spark a seven-run first inning in a 14-6 home victory over Scranton-Wilkes Barre. Brooks Lee is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment Saturday.

• Carlos Correa is “continually making steady improvement,” Baldelli said, but there was no timeline for a rehab assignment as the shortstop battles plantar fasciitis in his right foot.