The Quiet Roster Decision That Could Shape the Rangers’ First Month

The Texas Rangers have decisions to make this spring training. The bullpen is a significant part of that equation.

Up to four jobs could be up for grabs on opening day. Texas seems intent on giving Robert Garcia and Chris Martin chances to close. Cole Winn seems to be a lock as a multi-inning option. Jacob Latz will slide in if he doesn’t win the fifth starter job.

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One thing the Rangers will have to determine is which relievers will be the bridge to those high-leverage moments in the eighth and ninth innings. Who gets the ball in the sixth or seventh innings and can hold a lead? It’s an important job. The Rangers could make a quiet decision with big ramifications early and make Peyton Gray one of those relievers.

The Peyton Gray Decision

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Peyton Gray throws a baseball. — Cincinnati Reds pitcher Peyton Gray. | Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Gray has never pitched in the Majors, which makes dropping him in the bullpen a risk. But the non-roster invitee may be the best reliever in Rangers camp so far. He’s pitched in six games and is 1-0 with no ERA. He’s struck out 12, walked none and only allowed two hits in 7.2 innings.

He’s not a fireballer. He leans into a changeup that has great action in the zone and causes swing and miss. He did plenty of that last year in the Rangers’ system at Triple-A Round Rock. There, he went 8-6 with a 3.58 ERA in 45 games and 73 innings. He struck out 89 and walked 27. He finished with 10 holds and eight saves in 11 chances. In other words, the Express looked to him in big moments.

Texas would look to him as a bridge reliever in the sixth and seventh innings, most likely. Given his lack of experience at the Major League level, it’s a risk. If he makes the team and pans out early, it increases the Rangers’ chances of a good start to the campaign. If not, Texas loses shots at saves, something it failed at a high rate last year.

Gray is no spring chicken by baseball standards. He’s 30 years old. He’s bounced around professional baseball for close to a decade since his college career ended at Florida Gulf Coast University in Estero, Fla. He wasn’t drafted and signed a minor league deal with the Colorado Rockies. He bounced to Kansas City in 2020 and disappeared from the minors after the 2021 season when he suffered an elbow injury that led to Tommy John surgery.

He didn’t drop back into organized minor league ball until 2024 when he signed with Cincinnati, but he missed the entire season due to an injury. In between, he played independent ball in the U.S. and logged time in both Mexico and in the Dominican Republic. Texas signed him last year to a minor league deal on the recommendation of a scout.

It’s a quite decision that could help set the Rangers’ path in the early stages of the season — if Gray makes the team.