Gray, Myers go from college roommates to MLB teammates

This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola’s Marlins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

JUPITER, Fla. -- The odds of making it to the Majors are miniscule. The odds of sharing a big league clubhouse with a childhood friend are even more so.

Yet, that’s exactly the situation Marlins prospects Dane Myers and Tristan Gray find themselves in this Spring Training at the Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium complex. Myers and Gray, who grew up about 20 minutes apart outside of Houston, began playing for the same travel ball team at 15 years old. They later manned the left side of the infield for Rice University from 2015-17.

Both were selected in the 2017 MLB Draft -- Myers in the sixth round by the Tigers, Gray in the 13th round by the Pirates. Both made their Major League debuts in 2023 -- Myers with the Marlins and Gray with the Rays. Tampa Bay then outrighted Gray this past November. Miami swooped in, signing him to a Minor League deal 10 days later.

“It's been pretty cool,” Myers said. “I called him right away when we picked him up, and I was like, ‘Dude, I'm pretty excited. I think we’ve got a good spot for you here.’ And I think that it's going to work out good for him, so we'll see.”

Added Gray: “That's pretty wild to think about. It's probably over 10 years ago, being in high school travel ball, and you never realize where baseball leads at that point. And then going to Rice, rooming together, and just going through the grind at Rice, and the coaching staff, and getting yelled at and whatnot. Dane had it easy, though. He was a favorite. But I was the one that was getting laid into pretty good. To finally cross paths again on the same team, it's pretty cool.”

For two of their three seasons at Rice, Myers and Gray lived off campus together. During their freshman year, they even had a third roommate. When they didn’t venture to the nearby Whataburger, Myers could be found watching TV while munching on five pounds of crawfish. His mom would occasionally come over and clean his side of the place.

In those collegiate days, Myers was a two-way player, splitting time on the mound and third base. Gray could be found all over the diamond, but in particular at shortstop.

Things have changed a bit in pro ball.

Myers gave up pitching following the 2019 season, becoming a full-time position player in ’21. After being selected in the Minor League phase of the Rule 5 Draft in 2022, Myers went on to make his MLB debut on July 4, 2023 -- in center field. With Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Jonathan Davis sidelined by injuries, the Marlins were in need of a substitute. Myers filled in admirably despite limited reps at the position. In 22 MLB games across two stints, he posted a .644 OPS.

Gray, meanwhile, remained versatile. Over each of the last two seasons, he primarily played shortstop and belted at least 30 homers at Triple-A Durham. He reached the big leagues on Sept. 16, 2023, going 2-for-5 with a home run in two games. While Myers never got to face Gray when he was still pitching in the Minors, their Triple-A clubs did square off.

“I've seen him play a lot of baseball, and he's kind of still got the same game, which I'm always impressed with,” Myers said.

Now the pair share the same dugout. While Myers is on the 40-man roster, Gray is a non-roster invitee. Both are getting extensive looks this spring. Entering Thursday’s off-day, Gray (two) and Myers (one) had accounted for 60 percent of the Marlins’ Grapefruit League homers.

“There might be something in that Rice water,” Gray quipped.