SF Giants lightly floated the idea of traded All-Star pitcher before the deadline

The SF Giants made three trades right before the trade deadline, but they could have made more. According to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, they received offers for 2025 NL All-Star Robbie Ray, but none of them were good enough to make a trade.

SF Giants lightly floated the idea of traded All-Star pitcher before the deadline

The Giants originally acquired Ray in a salary-dump trade that sent Mitch Haniger and Anthony DeSclafani to the Seattle Mariners. The Giants took on longer-term money while the Mariners assumed a larger financial burden for the 2024 roster. Nevertheless, Seattle realized very little value from the deal, as DeSclafani never threw a pitch for the organization, and Haniger was released before this season.

As Pavlovic notes, the Giants would have needed to be blown away to move Ray at the trade deadline. The southpaw pitcher is in the fourth year of a five-year, $115 million deal. Given his performance this year and the added year of team control after this one, he would have a lot of value on the trade market.

Moving Ray would have been a quick way to restock the farm system. It would also have created a void in a rotation for the remainder of this year and in 2026. Nevertheless, it was an idea that they needed to entertain.

If the Giants moved Ray, they would have likely had to reapply some of that savings to filling a spot on the rotation in the offseason. There is no guarantee that they would have realized the return on investment that the veteran pitcher offers.

The Giants viewed this trade deadline as a soft reset, rather than a full fire sale. Their plan is to compete again in 2026, and there is no denying that they need Ray, along with Logan Webb, to fortify the front of the rotation.

The 12-year veteran has been one of the best pitchers in the NL this season. He has pitched to a 2.85 ERA, 3.78 FIP, 1.11 WHIP, 9.3 K/9, and a 2.64 SO/W ratio in 23 starts. Ray has benefited from throwing at Oracle Park, as he has a 1.1 HR/9 rate, down from a 1.4 HR/9 career mark. Of course, these numbers are why he was in demand at the trade deadline.