The San Francisco Giants are continuing their busy trade deadline. On Monday, about four hours before the deadline, it was reported that the Giants are trading left-handed starting pitcher Robbie Ray to the San Diego Padres. ESPN’s Jeff Passan was first to report the news. The return is not yet known.
It’s been a foregone conclusion for a while that the Giants would trade Ray. He’s a proven starter with a lot of pedigree — he’s a two-time All-Star and a former Cy Young winner — and his contract runs
out after this year. The Giants, who have been out of the playoff picture for months, were always going to sell off their rentals at the deadline.
After some serious struggles, Ray rebuilt his trade value massively over the summer. In his last eight games, Ray has posted a 1.09 ERA and a 3.04 FIP, with 41 strikeouts and 21 walks in 49.1 innings. That included back-to-back outings at the end of June in which the southpaw threw eight innings with no earned runs allowed, which really brought his trade value back up.
The Padres got a very close look at Ray’s recent resurgence. His final start as a Giant came on Thursday in San Diego, when he held his new team to one run in six innings. That, apparently, was all that AJ Preller needed to see.
