Tristan Colby Gray (born March 22, 1996) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

and

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

Amateur career

Gray graduated from Elkins High School in

Missouri City, Texas Missouri City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County, with a small portion in Harris County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 74,259, an increas ...

in 2014. As a senior, he batted .456 with 12 doubles and 23 RBIs. He was selected by the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

in the 37th round of the

2014 MLB draft The 2014 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June 6, and the last 30 round ...

, but did not sign and instead chose to enroll at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Rice Owls The Rice Owls are the sports teams representing Houston's Rice University in college sports. The name comes from the owls in Rice's crest. Rice participates in NCAA Division I athletics. A member of the American Athletic Conference, Rice sponsors ...

. In 2015, as a freshman at Rice, Gray appeared in 56 games, batting .247 with three home runs and 25 RBIs. As a sophomore in 2016, he missed time at the beginning of the year due to injury, but returned to

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.295/.353/.462 with five home runs and 18 RBIs in 42 games. After the 2015 and 2016 seasons, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

for the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie All ...

, and was named a league all-star in 2016. Gray broke out as a junior in 2017, hitting .313/.399/.540 with eight home runs and 39 RBIs in 47 games.

Professional career

Pittsburgh Pirates

After his junior year, he was drafted by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

in the 13th round of the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on June 12, while the remai ...

. He signed and made his professional debut for the

West Virginia Black Bears The West Virginia Black Bears are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Granville, West Virginia, and play their home games at Kendrick Family Ballpark, which is across the Monongahela River from Morga ...

of the Low–A

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, where he was named an All-Star. He finished the season batting .269 with seven home runs and 37 RBIs in 53 games.

Tampa Bay Rays

On February 22, 2018, the Pirates traded Gray,

Daniel Hudson Daniel Claiborne Hudson (born March 9, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2009 to 2024. Hudson was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the fifth round of the 2008 M ...

and cash to the

in exchange for

Corey Dickerson McKenzie Corey Dickerson (born May 22, 1989) is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies (2013–2015), Tampa Bay Rays (2016–2017), Pittsburgh Pirates (2018–2019 ...

. He spent the 2018 season with the

Charlotte Stone Crabs The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

of the High–A

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

, compiling a .238 batting average, 13 home runs, and 69 RBI in 118 games. He spent 2019 with the

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

of the Double–A Southern League, slashing .225/.332/.409 with 17 home runs and 64 RBI over 122 games. Gray did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. For the 2021 season, he was assigned to the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

of the

Triple-A East The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball (M ...

, slashing .246/.318/.428 with eight home runs and 33 RBI over 75 games. He returned to Durham for the 2022 season. Over 124 games, he batted .225 with 33 home runs and 89 RBI. To open the 2023 season, he was assigned to Durham. In 127 games, Gray batted .234/.309/.482 with 28 home runs and a career–high 91 RBI. On September 16, 2023, Gray was selected to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time after Taylor Walls was placed on the paternity list. In two games for the Rays, he went 2–for–5 (.400) with one home run and one RBI. Following the season on November 4, Gray was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to Triple–A Durham. He elected free agency on November 6.

Miami Marlins

On November 16, 2023, Gray signed a minor league contract with the

. In 34 games for the Triple–A

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in th ...

, he batted .227/.301/.523 with 10 home runs and 23 RBI. On May 12, 2024, the Marlins selected Gray's contract, adding him to their major league roster. He went 0–for–7 in 7 games for Miami and was designated for assignment on August 26.

Oakland Athletics

On August 27, 2024, Gray was claimed off waivers by the

. In eight games for Oakland, Gray went 3–for–21 (.143) with three walks.

Chicago White Sox

On October 31, 2024, Gray was claimed off waivers by the

. He was designated for assignment by Pittsburgh on January 20, 2025. Gray cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

on January 27, but rejected the assignment and elected free agency. On February 7, 2025, Gray signed a minor league contract with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

. He had his contract selected to the 40-man roster, but was subsequently optioned to the Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...

on July 5.

Tampa Bay Rays (second stint)

On July 26, 2025, Gray was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Tristan 1996 births Living people Baseball players from Houston Charlotte Knights players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Durham Bulls players Falmouth Commodores players Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp players Major League Baseball infielders Miami Marlins players Montgomery Biscuits players Oakland Athletics players Perth Heat players Rice Owls baseball players Sugar Land Skeeters players Tampa Bay Rays players West Virginia Black Bears players