Giants finalizing deal that sends Robbie Ray to Padres ahead of MLB trade deadline

Two and a half years after the Giants acquired him in one of the better trades in recent franchise history, Robbie Ray is on the move again.This time, the deal sends the 34-year-old left-hander from San Francisco to San Diego in the fifth time he has been traded in his 13 years in the big leagues.In return for Ray, the Padres are shipping out prospects Miguel Mendez and Joniel Hernandez.Mendez, a RHP, is rated the 4th best prospect in the San Diego organization while Hernandez is a 17-year-old shortstop and ranked as the 9th best prospect.Former team president Farhan Zaidi acquired Ray while he was still rehabbing from Tommy John and flexor tendon surgeries for the small price of Mitch Haniger and Anthony DeSclafani.Zaidi’s successor, Buster Posey, can only hope the trade of Ray looks as good in retrospect as the deal to land him from the Mariners in the winter before the 2024 season.Ray returned midway through 2024 and went on to go 24-16 with a 3.54 ERA in 60 starts for the Giants, even earning a trip to the All-Star Game last season in Atlanta.DeSclafani appeared in 13 games since the trade with a 5.12 ERA.

Haniger batted .208 with a .620 OPS for Seattle in 2024.The last professional game either appeared in was a relief appearance DeSclafani made for the Diamondbacks last September.At the time, Ray filled an obvious need as the No.

2 to Logan Webb following the departures of Kevin Gausman and Carlos Rodon.He leaves without a clear candidate to take his place.That said, the Giants aren’t building a rotation for this October, and the trade of Ray should clear the way for San Francisco to get a sense of what some younger arms can do over the final two months.For now, Webb and Landen Roupp look like the only sure bets to lay claim to the five rotation spots heading into next year, and the picture got murkier with the news that Trevor McDonald would undergo surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow.Carson Whisenhunt will get his first chance ...