By Jordan Long
The MLB offseason is in full swing. There is a potential lockout with the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) set to expire on December 1st. Starting on December 2nd, assuming a new deal is not in place, MLB will freeze the offseason, meaning teams can’t negotiate or sign free agent players until there is an agreement put in place. It could also push the start of Spring Training further into the calendar. Games are supposed to start on February 26th, 2022. The Texas Rangers decided to sign free agent pitcher Jon Gray to improve the pitching rotation.
Gray spent the past 7 years as a member of the Colorado Rockies. Gray went 53-49 for Colorado with an ERA of 4.59. This past season, Gray didn’t pitch well for the Rockies. He ended with an 8-12 record, his fewest wins in a full 162 game season. His ERA was 4.59. Gray’s problem this past year was his pitching location. He left the ball in the zone where a hitter could smack a home run, giving up 21, the second most in his career. Gray created traffic on the basepaths with walks, giving up 58, far too many.
Gray didn’t pitch in many playoff games for the Rockies. The Rockies earned a playoff spot in 2017 and 2018 as one of two Wild Card teams. In 2017, Gray started the Wild Card Game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He didn’t pitch well, lasting 1.1 innings, giving up 7 hits and 4 earned runs. The Rockies fell to Arizona 11-8. Gray wasn’t even in the lineup in 2018 when the Rockies beat the Cubs in the Wild Card game but were swept in the Divisional Series to the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Rockies were willing to talk to him about a new contract. He was 4th in the Rockies pitching rotation behind Antonio Senzatela. Gray was looking to stay with the Rockies, but he wanted a fair deal. According to fortmorgantimes.com, the Rockies offered Gray a three- or four-year deal in the range of $35 million to $40 million. That is around $10 million to $11.66 million a year, a low ball offer at least in the eyes of Gray. He turned it down. No word on if the Rockies talked to him after that.
Gray decided to sign with the Texas Rangers. The deal is 4-years, worth $56 million or $14 million a year. Gray joins a rotation that includes Dane Dunning and Kolby Allard. Gray has the most MLB experience over all of them. Dunning finished his 2nd MLB season but totaled 32 starts. Allard is entering his 5th year and his overall record is 8-21 with an ERA of 5.95.
Gray is taking a risk. The Rangers are a rebuilding team, especially with the pitching rotation. The Rangers may not be a playoff team for a few years. For Gray, he went for the money. The Rockies weren’t willing to pay him what he thought he was worth. Both franchises are in the same spot and are rebuilding. Hopefully, for Gray, he can contribute to help the Rangers win more games in 2022. They went a dismal 60-102 in 2021.
Leave a Reply