Texas Rangers pitcher Peyton Gray throws live batting practice during a spring training workout at the team’s training facility on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, in Surprise, Ariz.
Smiley N. Pool/Staff Photographer
ARLINGTON — If you ask Rangers manager Skip Schumaker, those end-of-camp conversations, specifically the ones that include a roster cut, are the hardest ones to have. If you ask right-handed pitcher Peyton Gray, who was among the many on the other end of those chats just over a month ago, it went better than most.
“I was just excited to still have a job,” Gray said Friday afternoon, “and to still be able to throw a ball and have fun.”
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Gray, 30, understands what it’s like to be without one.
He now has one that he relentlessly pursued across multiple leagues — and multiple countries — for nearly a decade.
The Rangers placed left-handed pitcher Robert Garcia on the 15-day injured list with shoulder inflammation Thursday, selected Gray’s contract from Triple-A Round Rock and designated catcher Willie MacIver for assignment to create a 40-man roster spot for the journeyman reliever. Gray will be the oldest American-born player to make his big league debut with the Rangers since left-handed pitcher Brandon Mann debuted as a 33-year-old on May 13, 2018.
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“I don’t know if it’s sunk in yet,” Gray said. “It’s surreal to be here. A couple of years ago I didn’t even know if I was ever going to play in the states again. I was in Mexico, I was playing independent ball, stuff like that. There were some bad times where I didn’t ever see this as a possibility, so being here, it’s a dream come true.”
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Gray pitched at three different colleges, signed with the Colorado Rockies as an undrafted free agent eight years ago, sandwiched three different stints with the independent league Milwaukee Milkmen around three different minor league opportunities, was released by three different organizations, bounced between winter leagues in Mexico and the Dominican Republic and worked odd jobs on the side to support his baseball career. The Rangers signed him to a minor league contract last year, and after successful runs at Triple-A Round Rock and Double-A Frisco, invited him to big league camp this spring.
“I’ll be honest with you, I had to, like, introduce myself to him,” Schumaker said. “I had to put a face to the name. I didn’t really know who he was other than video. But, right away, he showed us who he was, which was a credit to him. He came in ready to win a spot, and he did everything he could to win a spot.”
Texas Rangers pitcher Peyton Gray delivers during the sixth inning of a spring training game against the Los Angeles Angels on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, in Tempe, Ariz.
Smiley N. Pool/Staff Photographer
The Columbus, Ind., native had operated as one of the club’s go-to live bullpen arms last season when it needed a warm body to face big leaguers at Globe Life Field, but by the time camp broke this spring, he’d established himself as a legitimate option. Gray posted a 1.86 ERA, 17 strikeouts and no walks in 8 ⅔ innings of relief in Cactus League play. He threw 73% of his pitches for strikes and struck out more than half of the batters he faced.
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“Being a 30-year-old non-roster invite, without any big league time, I don’t think they expected me to put up as many zeroes and throw as many strikes as I did,” Gray said. “I think I surprised them. I might’ve surprised myself a little bit too.”
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Gray boosted his own confidence in the process. He struck out 15 batters in 12 ⅔ scoreless innings at Round Rock to start this season and continued to pound the zone with a 72% strike percentage. His changeup, considered the bread and butter of his arsenal, has held minor league hitters to a .095 batting average and a 33% swing-and-miss percentage this year. Gray is the only pitcher at the Triple-A level who’s thrown a changeup 70 or more times this season and held hitters to a .100 batting average or less.
The Rangers believe Gray can pitch multiple innings out of the bullpen. He logged two or more innings in three of his last four games at Round Rock and allowed two combined hits in those appearances.
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“What a story this is going to be when he gets on the mound,” Schumaker said. “The journey, from minor leagues to independent ball to international, the whole deal, it’s an incredible story. It’s earned. It’s not just because we need a pitcher. He’s earned this, and that sticks out the most.”