Peyton

Gray

Gore needed 28 pitches to get through his lone inning of work, with his fastball velocity down considerably before he was replaced by reliever Peyton Gray. He was charged with two runs on three hits. He struck out two and also issued a pair of walks. It certainly sounds like a potential injured list situation, but the Rangers are calling his exit precautionary in nature. There should be an update on his status in the coming days once he undergoes further evaluation and imaging to determine the severity of the issue.

Gray, a right-hander, was hit just above his glove and was bleeding from the area afterwards. He looked like he wanted to continue anyway, but Gavin Collyer was brought in to take his place.

Gray will take the place of the injured Robert Garcia (shoulder) in the Rangers’ bullpen. It’s the first trip to the big leagues for the 30-year-old right-hander. He has been exceptional in seven appearances at the Triple-A level, firing 12 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball with a 0.79 WHIP and a 15/2 K/BB ratio. If he can carry that over he could provide a major boost to the Rangers’ bullpen.

Teams around the league are trying to trim down their rosters as Opening Day looms for next week, so expect nearly every team to make multiple transactions each day over the weekend. Neither Herrera nor Gray was expected to crack the Opening Day roster, so these moves don’t really move the needle for fantasy purposes.

Gray has yet to reach the big leagues and spent last season in Texas’ system, compiling a respectable 3.58 ERA and 89/27 K/BB ratio across 73 innings between Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock. The 30-year-old is merely organizational depth at this stage of his career.

Gray returns to affiliated ball following a dominant run in the Mexican Winter League where he posted a sparkling 1.57 ERA with 33 strikeouts over 23 innings of work. The 29-year-old righty last pitches for the Milwaukee Milkmen of the independent American Association during the 2023 season when he posted nine saves and a microscopic 1.38 ERA and 64 punchouts across 39 innings. He’s the definition of a low-risk flyer for the Rangers as extra organizational relief depth.