Rangers should explore trades for this starter to clear payroll for 2025

It could be said you have to “give up more to get more back,” and the Texas Rangers may be in this exact position as it pertains to one member of their starting rotation.

Starting pitcher Jon Gray inked a four-year $56 million deal with Texas in 2021 after spending the beginning of his career with the Colorado Rockies, but his time in Arlington may be nearing a close.

The Shawnee native holds a career 4.45 ERA and is coming off of a season in which he recorded a 4.47 ERA across 102.2 innings.

Additionally, Gray’s advanced numbers are middle-of-the-road. This past season he ranked in the 30th percentile in Barrel% and the 41st percentile in GB%. He has also seen his K% each season since 2022.

The 32-year-old has not been a "bad" addition for the Rangers. But, one of owner Ray Davis’ top priorities this winter is to get under the $241 million luxury threshold and reset the team’s penalty level. This course of action may require the club to part with certain players who would have value on the trade market.

Rangers should explore trades for this starter to clear payroll for 2025

Gray has one year and $13 million remaining on his current contract. The Rangers have options they could use towards the bottom of their rotation like Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter. While the franchise is hoping that both can become top-flight arms, it is clear that it will take a season or two for that vision to take shape.

If Texas were to splurge on starting pitching this offseason, they would likely attempt to bring back Nathan Eovaldi in an effort to give Jacob deGrom a strong companion at the top of the rotation.

Dealing someone like Gray could grant Texas the financial flexibility to re-sign Eovaldi, take a chance on an aging Max Scherzer, or restructure a bullpen that will require serious attention this winter.

Gray was a part of the Rangers 2023 World Series team. He tossed 4.2 innings of scoreless baseball in the Fall Classic and will forever be a piece of the franchise’s history. But, this offseason will seemingly be about the future and not the past.