The Rangers announced today that starter Jon Gray has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a left oblique strain. Kennedi Landry of MLB.com was among the reporters to relay that Gray will be out of action for the next 4-6 weeks.
Signed to a four-year, $56MM contract in the offseason, it’s been a frustrating start to Gray’s tenure in Texas. This is his third trip to the IL this season, having already landed on the shelf due to a blister and then a knee sprain. Now he will be out of action until at least early September in a best-case scenario, but maybe not returning at all if the issue lingers.
When he has able to take the hill, he’s been very effective, though. Through 103 1/3 innings on the year, he has a 3.83 ERA with a 43.4% ground ball rate, 27.1% strikeout rate and 7.9% walk rate. With Gray out of action, the Rangers will be without one of their few effective starters, as he and Martin Perez are the only two guys on the squad to make more than five starts with an ERA under 4.00.
As the club is currently sporting a record of 46-56 and eight games out of a playoff spot, they are unlikely to work their way back into the postseason race down the stretch, especially without Gray. As such, there’s not likely to be any need to rush him back until his health is back to full strength.
In the short-term, the Rangers will need to replace Gray’s spot in the rotation with another starter. As Landry notes, Taylor Hearn was recalled to take his roster spot but will stay in the bullpen. Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com suggest Cole Ragans as a candidate. The 24-year-old isn’t currently on the 40-man roster but is having a very nice season in the minors. In 18 starts between Double-A and Triple-A, he has a 3.04 ERA with a 29.3% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate.
There goes cookies
Not trading Matt Moore, and Martin Perez, makes even less sense without Gray
U gotta have someone to pitch through the season.u wanna run Otto, Howard, dunning, keuchel, and ragans every 5th day? They’d be hitting 100 pitches by 5th inning, and ud be in the already taxed bullpen for 4 innings almost every night
Too many Rangers fans grouching about trades just for the sake of making bad ones and grouching some more.
Six consecutive years of losing will, and should, bring grouching. It should bring firings. I said the Matt Bush trade was a good one. If you know anything at all about baseball, you know Matt Moore should’ve been traded. Even for a lottery ticket. 33 year old, soon to be free agent, posting career best numbers? That’s an easy call. Fans aren’t going to complain that the return wasn’t enough for a player of that caliber. But there is zero reason to keep him.
The baseball expert. ⚾️
You don’t have to be a baseball expert to have common sense. I’m no baseball expert. Clearly, neither is Jon Daniels. Most people who are below average at their job, for six consecutive years, are fired.
Not trading Perez especially after Gray went down makes more sense. They already are thin on quality pitcher innings and the pen has been exhausted a lot of the past month. I do agree Moore probably should have been traded and realize Perez will probably come back down to Earth at some point but he is solid and worth keeping at this point. Also agree that if there wasn’t a trade that made sense to bring people in then no reason to make a trade just to make one. Their offseason will be important again and we’ll see if they put their money where their mouth is to improve the pitching.
You don’t make a trade just to make one if:
a. the player has term on his contract after this season
b. you plan on making him a qualifying offer to at least net a draft pick
c. you are trying to re-sign him before he hits free agency
I understand the points about Perez, and I don’t disagree, but if he hits the free agent market it’s a big F-up by the Rangers front office. They kept him because they want to extend him. Now they have a window. If he hits free agency, he should’ve been traded. These points about taxing the bullpen, and overworking the staff, are asinine. Nobody cares about winning on the Rangers. There are 20 usable pitchers on the 40-man roster. It doesn’t matter who pitches. They aren’t playing for anything. Shuttle guys in and out. Cut Culberson and Calhoun for journeymen inning eaters if you must. Their “veteran clubhouse leadership” isn’t showing up in the win column. Just get through this losing year so the fans can start looking forward to year 7 in a row under .500
As for Moore, he 100 percent should’ve been traded, even for a lottery ticket. Once upon a time, Texas traded DFA’d catcher Brett Nicholas for a lottery ticket pitcher named Emmanuel Clase. Moore had much higher value. Sometimes they pan out. Moore has no term after this season, and will not be getting a qualifying offer. That leaves trying to re-sign him. That would be a big mistake by Texas, but We are used to that by now. He should’ve been dealt, for any player(s). That’s what the scouts are for.
Despite being on the IL 3x now he has made 19 starts. That’s one less than Quintana and same as Verlander just for two random comparisons.
Let’s can Woodward’s sorry ass and get someone else in there to finish the year. The players don’t even play hard for him. He sucks!!!!
Nice to see Ragans healthy and back to dominating.