Miami Marlins Ink Former Tampa Bay Rays Prospect Tristan Gray to Minor League Contract

Tristan Gray spent the past six years in the Tampa Bay Rays' farm system before the club waived him, allowing the Miami Marlins to swoop in and sign him.

The Miami Marlins have signed infielder Tristan Gray to a minor league contract, the Miami Herald's Craig Mish reported Friday morning.

Gray, a 27-year-old utility man, had been in the Tampa Bay Rays' farm system since 2018, when they acquired him from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for outfielder Corey Dickerson. The Rays placed Gray on waivers following this past season, though, opening the door for the Marlins to scoop him up.

Peter Bendix first player acquired as President of the Miami Marlins is Infielder Tristan Gray per source. Bendix knows him well. Rays waived Gray earlier this month. Made his big league debut in September. Minor League deal.

— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) November 17, 2023

Gray made his MLB debut in September, pinch hitting and getting one at-bat in his first-ever big league appearance. The next day, Gray earned his first major league start, and he played all 11 innings against the Baltimore Orioles.

In that game, Gray went 2-for-4 with a solo home runs.

Gray proved he had plenty of pop in the minors over the past few seasons, starting when he blasted 33 home runs with Triple-A Durham in 2022. He followed that up with another 30 homers in 2023, in addition to 98 RBI.

Although he is only batting .236 in the minors since getting drafted out of Rice in 2017, Gray boasts a .454 lifetime slugging percentage across all levels.

Gray's primary positions at this point in his career are shortstop and third base, but he has plenty of experience at first and second base as well.

The Marlins have back-to-back batting champion Luis Arraez holding down the fort at second, as well as Jake Burger under team control at third base for another five seasons. The club picked up utility man Jon Berti's option and watched first baseman Josh Bell opt into his contract for 2024, but they declined Joey Wendle's mutual option to open up a spot in the infield.

It remains to be seen if Gray will get a shot in the big leagues next year, but the left-handed slugger does have connections to the Marlins' new president of baseball operations, Peter Bendix, who was previously the Rays' general manager.

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