Giants-Cardinals trade pitch from ex-GM might not be juicy enough for SF

Robbie Ray is one of the more obvious trade pieces for the SF Giants ahead of the trade deadline. He’s set to be a free agent and he’s been dealing lately so a lot of contenders in need of starting pitching could come calling.

Jim Bowden of The Athletic just pitched one trade idea between the Giants and St. Louis Cardinals that may be a little light from San Francisco’s perspective.

Bowden proposes that the Giants trade Ray to the Cardinals in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Tanner Franklin and shortstop prospect Yairo Padilla. Franklin and Padilla are ranked as the No. 9 and No. 15 prospects in St. Louis’ organization respectively so it wouldn’t be a bad haul necessarily, but the Giants have to be hoping for a bit more.

No team is going to sell the farm for a pitcher who is likely just going to be a rental, but teams in contention that need pitching can tend to get very desperate. If the Giants time things right they could maybe even snag a top-100 MLB prospect. Maybe if the Cardinals offered left-handed pitcher Liam Doyle or outfielder Joshua Báez that would really move the needle.

Giants may have to settle for a mid-tier package for Ray

The Franklin-Padilla return would be interesting, but not exactly thrilling. Franklin is 22 years old and was drafted in the second round out of the University of Tennessee last year so there’s a connection to manager Tony Vitello.

Yet, Franklin hasn’t impressed a ton in the minors so far. He has a 5.09 ERA in 15 starts for the Cardinals’ High-A affiliate with 63 strikeouts and 30 walks in 53 innings of work. He’s got a tremendous fastball so there’s definitely promise there but he’s not estimated to reach the big leagues until 2028 and the Giants probably want arms that can make an impact at the big league level before then.

As for Padilla, he would add to San Francisco’s collection of promising young teenage shortstops. The Cardinals signed him out of the Dominican Republic a few years ago and his career minor league numbers have been promising as he’s hit .292/.399/.406 with two homers and 34 runs batted in across 83 games while stealing 50 bases.

He’s definitely known more for his speed and defense but maybe the bat can develop more as he gets older.

It wouldn’t be a terrible haul and if the Giants end up making a deal like that it would be totally reasonable. They should test the waters though and see just how desperate a team might be to land Ray, though. 

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