Sonny Gray’s attempt to get back to being the pitcher he was when the Yankees traded for him from Oakland last season won’t happen overnight, which even the right-hander admitted.

“I’m just trying to pitch a little bit more athletic,” Gray said Tuesday before the Yankees’ 9-1 loss to the Marlins in The Bronx. “For me, that kind of means maybe get the ball and not have as much thinking going on. Just get the ball and go.”

It’s a strategy Gray thinks he got away from over a period of time since suffering an elbow injury two seasons ago, and the adjustment isn’t simply a response to his ugly outing against the Red Sox at Fenway Park last week, when he surrendered six runs in three innings.

“It wasn’t one start,” Gray said of his reasons for making a change. “That was a crazy game all the way around. It’s been happening for a while. I remember vividly after an elbow injury in 2016 trying to change a couple of mechanical things where I thought I was protecting myself, but if you continue to do, can create some bad habits.”

Pitching coach Larry Rothschild said he wants Gray to pitch ahead in counts more often — something he is confident should be a strength for Gray, who has yet to emerge as an above-average starter since he arrived in The Bronx last July in exchange for Jorge Mateo, James Kaprielian and Dustin Fowler, three of the Yankees’ top prospects.

“He’s got a chance to be a really good command guy — and should be,’’ Rothschild said Monday. “That’s where some of the problems have come in. His stuff is really good. He’s got a chance to really help us.”

Gray has so far been inconsistent in three starts in 2018.

He battled a high pitch count in his season debut in Toronto, lasting just four innings — but striking out eight. Gray’s inability to pitch deeper into the game led to a blown lead by the bullpen in a loss.

Gray followed that up by giving up three runs in six innings in a win over the Orioles before falling flat against the Red Sox.

The 28-year-old pitched relatively well following his midseason move a year ago, finishing 4-7 with a 3.72 ERA in 11 outings with the Yankees.

Through three starts this season, Gray has a sky-high 1.923 WHIP. Perhaps the lone bright spot is the fact he hasn’t allowed a homer.

When he takes the mound again Friday against Toronto at the Stadium, Gray plans to keep a simpler approach.

“Just not as much thinking and deliberate movements going on,’’ Gray said. “A big part of it is not getting stuck in the middle of my delivery. I think that’s something I’ve struggled with the last couple of years.”

His walk rate of 4.8 per nine innings is significantly higher than the 3.2 he had last year, which was a career-high.

If he’s able to repeat his delivery, Gray said he thinks he’ll get to where Rothschild wants him to be.

“The goal is to just get back to simplifying everything from a windup standpoint, from a pitch selection standpoint and a pitch location standpoint,” Gray said. “Just get out there, take the ball and just ‘do’ rather than think and get back to throwing more quality strikes.”