The Marlins signed infielder Tristan Gray to a minor league deal, Craig Mish of the Miami Herald (X link) reports. The Rays placed Gray on outright waivers earlier this month, and he became a free agent after clearing the waiver wire.
Gray had been a member of Tampa’s organization since February 2018, when the Rays dealt the infielder and Daniel Hudson to the Pirates for Corey Dickerson. Something of a flier prospect at the time, Gray worked his way up the minor league ladder to Triple-A Durham, where he played for almost all of the 2021-23 seasons. The exception to that extended Triple-A stint came this past September, when Gray made his MLB debut by appearing in two games for the Rays and homered and singled over five plate appearances.
Like many Rays products, Gray can play at multiple positions, with a lot of experience at every spot on the infield except catcher. Most of Gray’s playing time has come at shortstop and third base, making him an interesting candidate for a bench job in Miami. Jake Burger and Jon Berti are both right-handed hitters, so the left-handed hitting Gray could be a complement at either position or perhaps even a platoon partner with Berti depending on how the Marlins address the shortstop role.
Of course, new Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix is very familiar with Gray’s work due to Bendix’s past role as Tampa’s general manager, so it isn’t surprising that Miami has snapped up a potentially useful player who was a little expendable to the Rays. Gray is considered to be a decent but unspectacular fielder at his various positions, while the Rays are deep in infield talent. As well, Gray has shown quite a bit of power in the minors, but is something of a one-dimensional bat.
Gray has hit 71 homers over his 1300 career PA at the Triple-A level, hitting the 30-homer threshold in each of the last two seasons. However, Gray’s career slash line in Durham was a modest .233/.301/.474, as he posted 406 strikeouts and didn’t often walk. Gray turns 28 in March so he isn’t exactly still an up-and-comer, yet his power potential indicates that he could still possibly be a late bloomer and a more productive overall hitter if he can just make more consistent contact.
If he can figure out how to translate the minor league success to big league success this could be a steal for the Marlins
But who graduates to the majors and cuts down on their whiff rate?
Since the focus on launch angle and exit velocity is so prevalent he doesn’t need to cut down that much as long as he’s hitting 30+ bombs per season
Bench role as lefty bat pinch hitter with some pop isn’t a bad thing to have. After pinch hitting he can go on the field in multiple spots giving some flexibility to Skip the Skipper. I like this move for the Marlins.
Man, I was hoping the Braves would give him a MiL deal with a shot at their bench and backup middle infielder job.
I wish the Rays gave him a real shot–especially after Wander was put on leave.
Has Stallings been non-tendered yet?