Rangers righty went unclaimed on waivers, . Texas quietly placed Gray on waivers on Thursday. The 48-hour proce s Alex Caruso Jersey came and went without another team putting in a claim, with that window closing this afternoon. Gray pitched today. The waiver proce s technically closed at 1:00 pm Eastern, two hours before first pitch, but the Rangers couldve continued to use Gray even if hed still been on waivers at game time. Teams are permitted to continue playing those whom theyve placed on outright waivers so long as they were not previously designated for a signment. This move itself is likely to be inconsequential. Texas cannot send Gray, who has well over five years of MLB service, to the minors without his consent. They could release him, but all thatd do is remove him from the roster. Placing him on waivers was solely an attempt to dump the remaining $3.1MM on his $13MM salary. They were hoping another team would claim him and a sume the rest of the contract. No one bit, and the Rangers would pay that money if they release him. Theyll probably keep him on the roster and could try to place him on waivers again in a week or two to see if theyll find a taker. Its more interesting as a potential precursor to other moves. Rosenthal writes that the Rangers currently have no plans to place anyone else on waivers. However, todays 14-2 drubbing at the hands of the Blue Jays dropped them to 61-63. Theyve lost four straight and eight of their last 10. Theyre now eight games back in the division and five out in the Wild Card picture. Dropping any further in the standings over the next couple weeks could incentivize them to waive a number of veterans just before the end of August. That has become increasingly prevalent over the past couple seasons. The Angels used waivers to dump the final month of and contracts in 2023, allowing them to dip just below the luxury tax threshold. The Giants tried a waiver dump with and last summer, but no one took those contracts off their hands. Its generally a course of action taken by a team that was a fringe contender at the trade deadline and thus didnt sell short-term veterans that fell firmly out of contention in August. The timing isnt coincidental. Players need to be in an organization by September 1 to be eligible for postseason play. A player on a notable salary is much le s likely to be claimed after the beginning of September, so the attempted waiver dumps tend to happen in the final few days of August. Gray clearly doesnt have surplus value in the eyes of MLB. He mi sed most of the season after breaking his wrist when he was hit by a comebacker in Spring Training. Texas has used him in relief since he was activated from the injured list on July 23. Hes allowed 12 runs in 14 innings, recording 12 strikeouts against six walks. Opponents have already tagged him for five home runs. His 94.7 MPH average fastball speed is slightly down from his usual 95-96 range even though he has only once worked more than three innings. He has lost a tick on his slider as well. It may be impo sible to find a taker for Gray. They can try again in a couple weeks, potentially hoping that a team would be more willing to take on the approximate $2MM hes due in September than they were to a sume $3MM right now. The Rangers have a number of other players whod be very likely to get claimed if they choose to go that route. , for instance, would be owed just over $1MM for the stretch run. Hes an impending free agent to whom the Rangers cannot make a qualifying offer because they acquired him midseason. Waiving him just one month after trading three pitching prospects to the Diamondbacks would make for poor optics, but the Rangers could welcome the chance to save the money if they dont expect to re-sign him and determine theyre all but officially done this season. Relievers , , and are all impending free agents wholl be owed just a few hundred thousand dollars in September. The same is true of starter . Itd be harder to find a taker for , wholl make just under $2.5MM for the seasons final month and is working back from a shoulder injury. Still, hes another impending free agent they could make available. Its also po sible they go this route with , wholl probably be non-tendered in his final year of arbitration eligibility. Hed be due around $1.4MM in September and might clear anyway. None of that seems to currently be under discu sion. Gray wouldve been the obvious first player to make available since hes not performing well regardle s. Yet the teams play over the past couple weeks could put a drastic roster overhaul on the table 10-14 days from now. Outright waivers are in reverse order of the MLB standings and unlike the old revocable trade waiver system are not AL or NL specific. Non-contenders have no reason to claim expensive rentals, so any waiver dumps (from Texas or otherwise) would be most meaningful to teams on the fringe of the Wild Card races like the Royals and Reds. For Texas, this all comes against the backdrop of the luxury tax line. They intended to stay below the $241MM base threshold throughout the offseason. and each suggested the Rangers deadline additions would push them past the tax line. However, Rosenthal writes that Texas is already believed to be below the $241MM mark. An unofficial estimate from has them around $237MM but has yet to account for incentives that count against the tax number as theyre triggered. Avery Bradley Jersey