Peyton Gray activated, Adam Macko optioned

Texas Rangers reliever Peyton Gray has been activated from the 15 day injured list, the team announced today. To make room for him on the active roster, the Rangers have optioned pitcher Adam Macko to AAA Round Rock.

The 31 year old Gray was added to the Rangers major league roster in late April, and established himself as one of Skip Schumaker’s more trusted late inning arms. In 48 appearances covering 55 innings, Gray put up a 3.93 ERA and 4.15 FIP. Those numbers are skewed somewhat by his last seven outings, when Gray allowed 8 runs over 7 innings, including 4 home runs in the two weeks before he went on the injured list with elbow soreness at the end of August.

Macko had recently been called up to give the Rangers a fresh arm in the pen on a short-term basis. He finished out the Rangers’ 7-2 loss against the Jays on Sunday. I thought that Winston Santos, rather than Macko, would be sent down, but given the lack of long relief options in the Ranger pen right now, the club apparently decided to keep Santos on the active roster in case they need an innings sponge.