Yankees leading candidate in trade for pitcher Sonny Gray

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How would Sonny Gray look in pinstripes? Taller? Thinner? Is either even possible?

Monday’s trade deadline is getting closer, and so are the A’s and Yankees in talks on a Gray-to-the-Bronx deal that would move the 5-foot-10 pitcher from last place to the pennant race.

Gray took out the lineup card to umpires before Saturday night’s 5-4 victory over the Twins at the Coliseum — manager Bob Melvin’s 1,000th career victory — and stopped preparing to pitch in Sunday’s series finale because the A’s announced Jharel Cotton would start instead.

This would assure that any team acquiring Gray would get him for an extra start. Monday’s deadline is 1 p.m., and the A’s penciled in Gray to start Monday night’s interleague opener against the Giants, just in case he’s still around.

It seems unlikely. The A’s are heading for a third straight last-place finish, and Gray would bring prospects who could help long term. The A’s need a center fielder and, as always, pitching.

Sources confirmed Saturday night the Yankees were the leading candidate for Gray, though several other contenders remain on the prowl for starting pitchers, including the Dodgers, Astros, Cubs and Brewers.

Billy Beane, the A’s executive vice president of baseball operations, is a long-time buddy of Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, which can’t hurt. That Cashman is hesitant to part with outfielder Clint Frazier and infielder Gleyber Torres isn’t considered a deal breaker because the Yankees’ list of top-drawer prospects runs deep.

The A’s traded relievers Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson to Washington on July 16 and could move more pieces before the deadline, including first baseman Yonder Alonso and second baseman Jed Lowrie.

“He’s doing fine with it,” manager Bob Melvin said of Gray’s mind-set amid the trade buzz. “It’s all about performance, and he’s been performing pretty well. Off the field, each guy handles it a little differently, but it has not affected his performance on the field, and that’s the most important thing.”

Many starting pitchers are said to be available via trades, but Gray’s price should be steeper than most because he’s young (27), relatively cheap ($3.575 million) and in a groove (1.37 ERA in his past six starts).

Plus, Gray’s healthy, which hasn’t always been the case in 2016 and 2017. Beane and general manager David Forst are negotiating from a position of strength, especially because Gray won’t be a free agent until after the 2019 season.

If the A’s can’t succeed in the regular season, they want to succeed in the trading season, and Gray is their biggest chip. So it was no surprise when the A’s announced Cotton will start Sunday in Gray’s place.

Melvin played down trade talk as the chief reason, saying, “I guess there is the potential for that if you’re looking at it all around, but for us, we felt like regardless, it’s the prudent thing to do.”

Melvin mentioned Gray has been pitching a lot lately — between 98 and 108 pitches in each of 10 starts in June and July — and Cotton would be pitching on normal rest after a Tuesday rehab start with Triple-A Nashville.

Cotton (thumb blister) will be activated from the disabled list Sunday. After hearing of Oakland’s pitching change, Twins manager Paul Molitor said, “Obviously, something’s in the mix there,” implying a trade seems imminent.

John Shea is The San Francisco Chronicle’s national baseball writer. Email: jshea@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JohnSheaHey

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