Early returns suggest SF Giants robbed the Padres in Robbie Ray trade

The SF Giants knew they had to be active at the 2026 MLB trade deadline. With how poorly the season had gone up to that point there was no other choice but to sell and Robbie Ray was one of the most obvious trade chips since he will be a free agent following the season.

Ray was dealt to the San Diego Padres where he has pitched quite well so far. The Padres are trying to make it into the Wild Card but the Giants have their sights set on the future. Based on the early returns from the prospects they acquired in the trade, San Francisco may have robbed San Diego blind.

The two prospects the Giants got were right-handed pitcher Miguel Mendez and infielder Joniel Hernandez. At the time of the trade it seemed like the Giants got two guys with quite a bit of upside and their performance in the minors has backed that up.

Mendez made one start for the San Jose Giants and pitched 2 and 1/3 innings, walking two and striking out one while allowing one earned run. He has made three starts with Double-A Richmond and has pitched nine innings, allowing four earned runs while striking out 12 and walking three.

The strikeout potential with Mendez seems to be real. His stuff is electric and he had 118 strikeouts in 95 innings last season and has 53 strikeouts in 48 innings so far in 2026. It wouldn’t be a shock to see him with the Giants at some point next season.

Joniel Hernandez might be a stud for the Giants someday

The real crown jewel of the trade may end up being Hernandez though. He’s just 17 years old and is currently playing in the Dominican Summer League so we should pump the brakes, but he is hitting an impressive .343/.439/.629 with three home runs and eight runs batted in since joining the Giants.

It’s irrational to get overly excited about teenage shortstops, but the Giants now have four of them in Joniel Hernandez, Josuar Gonzalez, Luis Hernandez, and Jhonny Level. One would hope at least one of them pans out and becomes a solid contributor at the big league level.

Obviously, the Giants wish they could have been in the same position as the Padres making a trade to try to contend for the playoffs. But given the circumstances, if the Padres just end up sneaking into the playoffs and likely having an early exit while the Giants end up fleecing a division rival then they will certainly feel like the winners of the trade.

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