Texas Rangers’ roster shuffle exposes a costly bullpen gamble

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Just after the Texas Rangers lost another game on Saturday afternoon, a new report indicated the team tried desperately to part ways with 2023 hero Jon Gray. However, no other team wanted to take on the pitcher’s salary, and he went unclaimed, according to Ken Rosenthal.

While Gray was an integral part of the Rangers’ march to a World Series championship in 2023, he missed most of the 2025 campaign. However, the hurler returned just ahead of the trade deadline this summer and has pitched exclusively out of the pen. The team was hoping that Gray would shore up an iffy bullpen and take a few starts for a banged-up rotation. However, he’s only come into games in mop-up duty and has mostly been hit hard.

Texas Rangers tried to unload Jon Gray, but he’s still around

His struggles include Saturday afternoon, when he came in as a relief pitcher after starter Patrick Corbin was ineffective and got shelled for 7 earned runs in just 2.1 innings. Gray allowed 4 runs of his own on 2 homers in his own 2.1 innings.

On the season, Gray has a 7.71 ERA in 14 innings pitched.

The Rangers reportedly placed the reliever on waivers on Thursday. Had another team claimed him, they would have been on the hook for the rest of the $13 million he’s owed this season. With that kind of pricetag, it’s not a surprise that Texas was trying to rid itself of the money, especially considering how close to over, or how much they’ve already gone over the luxury tax cap for the third straight season.

The decision with Gray is similar to the approach the Rangers took last season when it placed outfielders Robbie Grossman and Travis Jankowski on waivers. Grossman was claimed by the Kansas City Royals, and Jankowski went unclaimed and remained with the Rangers.

The question now is whether the Texas Rangers might put Gray on waivers again and hope some team finds a use for him before the August 31 playoff roster deadline. It seems likely that he’ll now spend the rest of the season with his current team.