Rangers 40-Man Roster Wraps: Jon Gray

Jon Gray finished with a .500 record in his first season with Texas, but he had stretches of excellence throughout 2022.

InsidetheRangers.com will review each of the players on the Texas Rangers 40-man roster at the conclusion of the 2022 season.

P Jon Gray

Statistics for 2022: Gray went 7-7 with a 3.96 ERA in 24 starts. He threw 127 1/3 innings, giving up 105 hits, 61 runs (56 earned), 17 home runs and 39 walks. He struck out 134. Opponents hit .222 against him and he had a 1.13 WHIP.

Season Transactions: The Rangers put Gray on the 10-day injured list on April 9 with a right middle finger blister. The Rangers activated him in on April 19. On April 22, the Rangers put Gray on the 10-day injured list with a low grade left knee sprain. On May 3, the Rangers activated Gray from the injured list. On Aug. 2, Gray went on the 15-day injured list with a left oblique strain. The Rangers activated him on Sept. 12.

Season Summary: The injury bug hit Gray hard. His stint on the IL after the oblique strain was more than a month and came after an impressive stretch of pitching. In June and July he went 7-4 with a 2.65 ERA, striking out 81 against 20 walks. Pitching behind Martin Perez, he and the veteran left-hander became a quality 1-2 punch Gray had a couple of rough outings in his final two starts, giving up nine earned runs in 11 innings. But, in the balance, Gray’s first season was solid. He was willing to pitch with a brace on his knee for most of May to remain in the rotation.

Contract Status: Gray will enter the second year of a four-year, $56 million contract that will pay him $15 million in 2023 (per Spotrac.com)

What’s next: Gray’s contract and performance means he’s a part of the 2023 rotation. At the moment, he’s the only veteran starter certain to return, as Perez is a free agent. The Rangers have hopes that they’ll bring Perez back, and if so the Rangers have their best two starters returning for 2023. Gray tends to be consistent and durable. In every full season from 2016 to 2022, he’s made at least 20 starts. He’s also won at least 10 games in four of those seasons (2016-19). Gray hasn’t had a 10-win season since 2019. That’s the goal for 2023 — and staying healthy.

2022 Texas Rangers 40-Man Roster Wraps:

Ezequiel Duran | A.J. Alexy | Josh Smith | Tyson Miller | Corey Seager | Joe Barlow | Leody Taveras | Brad Miller | Drew Strotman | Josh Jung |

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