Of the several teams eyeing Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray in advance of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, the Brewers have shown the most interest, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The unexpected playoff hopefuls began doing “background work” on both Gray and now-former White Sox left-hander Jose Quintana just over a week ago, but the latter went to the NL Central rival Cubs on Thursday in a blockbuster trade. Acquiring Gray would be a quite a counterpunch by Milwaukee, which has a 5.5-game lead over the Cubs, and Cafardo observes that the Brewers have the prospect capital to make it happen. But even after getting Quintana, the Cubs haven’t closed the door on adding Gray, too.

More pre-deadline info from Cafardo: