ARLINGTON, Texas — Peyton Gray threw 20 pitches Saturday, and his velocity was exactly where it was before he got hurt, Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. Gray has been on the 15-day injured list since Aug. 31 with right elbow inflammation.
Schumaker made the comments on The Skip Schumaker Show, the pregame segment Rangers Sports Network posts before games. Gray’s changeup and secondary pitches were really good, Schumaker said.
“I think he’s really close. He threw 20 pitches,” Schumaker said. “His velo was exactly where it was before he got hurt. Change-up, secondary pitches were really good. So, yeah, I think he’s very close.”
Peyton Gray Went 6-0 Before Right Elbow Inflammation
Gray is 6-0 with a 3.93 ERA over 48 appearances and 55 innings, with 58 strikeouts and 16 walks. Texas placed him on the injured list retroactive to Aug. 30. His last outing came Aug. 29 at Milwaukee, where he allowed 2 runs, 1 earned, on 3 hits in 1 inning with 1 strikeout. The next day, he reported arm soreness.
Right-hander Cole Winn went on the injured list in the same set of moves with a right rotator cuff strain. On Friday, Texas transferred Winn to the 60-day injured list to clear a 40-man roster spot for right-hander Michel Otañez, which ends Winn’s regular season.
At the time of the injuries, only Winn and Tyler Alexander had appeared in more games for Texas than Gray.
Peyton Gray Made His MLB Debut At 30
Gray made his major league debut April 23, pitching the ninth inning of a 6-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates and facing the minimum. He was five weeks shy of his 31st birthday.
The Columbus, Ind., native went undrafted out of Florida Gulf Coast University in 2018 and signed with the Colorado Rockies. Colorado released him in 2020, and he pitched that summer for the Milwaukee Milkmen of the independent American Association. He then spent time in the Kansas City and Cincinnati organizations. Texas signed him to a minor league contract on Jan. 21, 2025, and he went 8-6 with a 3.58 ERA and 89 strikeouts over 73 innings between Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock that season.
Texas has had five relievers unavailable at times this week. After Friday’s 7-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, Schumaker said Trevor Williams’ 4 scoreless innings left a lot of the bullpen available for Saturday.
The Rangers (77-77) are tied with the Houston Astros atop the American League West with eight games left. Cal Quantrill faces Toronto’s José Soriano at 6:05 p.m. CT on Rangers Sports Network.
