Rangers Pitcher Goes Unclaimed After Team Surprisingly Placed Him On Waivers

The Texas Rangers tried to offload one of their pitchers.

May 24, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy (15) looks on from the dugout before a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers have been searching for answers in their bullpen.

That's what happens when that unit has been directly responsible for three straight losses at the worst possible time of the season, as the Rangers' playoff chances continue to get longer and longer with each passing day.

Unfortunately for Texas, there isn't a whole lot they can do right now, with difference-making options being limited at this stage of the year. But as they search for ways to stabilize things across their relief staff, they did make some roster moves prior to Sunday.

As part of that, Jon Gray was placed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder nerve irritation, an issue that seems like it will end his season after he's made just six appearances with not much success following being activated off the 60-day IL on July 23.

But what was even more interesting was the report that Gray had been placed on waivers.

Jon Gray Went Unclaimed When Placed On Waivers

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Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first revealed that Texas placed the right-hander on waivers. Evan Grant of The Dallas News later added that it was a non-transactional move since Gray was placed on "revocable" waivers, which did not affect his status on the active roster at the time.

If he had been claimed by another team, then that club would have assumed Gray's contract for the rest of the year. But since he went unclaimed, he remained with the Rangers and was then placed on the injured list because of his shoulder issue.

All of that basically can be summed up like this: Texas attempted to find a way to get out from under the remainder of the salary they have to pay the right-hander, but since no other team wanted to add him to their roster, the Rangers held onto him and placed him on the injured list.

What's Next for Rangers?

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This is the latest example of the organization trying to figure out their salary situation, with the rumor being they were a bit more reserved than usual ahead of the trade deadline because they were so money conscious.

Getting out of the remainder of Gray's $13 million salary this year would have provided some relief, but that is no longer an option for them, which could cause them to search for other ways to reduce payroll.

Impending free agents could be next if the team continues to fall out of the playoff race, with the trio of Merrill Kelly, Danny Coulombe and Phil Maton all being waiver options. However, that would likely be a terrible look for the organization considering how many top 30 prospects they gave up to bring them into town, so that feels like it would be the last possible course of action.

But Texas is at a crossroads, fielding a roster that is good enough to make the playoffs on paper while the real-life situation has seen this team come up woefully short of those expectations.

It will be interesting to see what comes next for the Rangers after their attempt to move on from Gray.