Veteran SF Giants pitcher's trade value has taken a nosedive lately

If the SF Giants plan to sell before the 2026 MLB trade deadline, Robbie Ray might be one of the first players to go. That said, the veteran pitcher's trade value and demand have likely taken a nosedive over the past few starts.

Teams tend to be cognizant of recent performance when evaluating a player as a trade option. If a player is struggling leading up to the trade deadline, it is easy to overlook solid career numbers.

That could very way be the case for Ray, who is in the final year of a five-year, $115 million contract. He is not eligible to receive a qualifying offer in the offseason, so the only real value in holding onto to him through the remainder of the year is if the team has a desire to re-sign the 34-year-old pitcher in the offseason.

The southpaw pitcher got off to a strong start, pitching to a 3.04 ERA in his first nine starts. His 4.93 FIP was quite a bit higher, so there was a case to be made that he was pitching better than ERA would suggest. Ray ran into trouble in an outing in May against the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he yielded nine earned runs across 4.1 innings. It was the worst start of his career.

Veteran SF Giants hurler has not recovered after rough outing against Diamondbacks

Over his past five starts, Ray has a 7.43 ERA with 17 strikeouts and 16 walks across 23 innings. That ERA is being impacted by his rough outing against the Diamondbacks, but he also had two other appearances during that stretch where he has allowed at least four earned runs.

Efficiency has been an issue for Ray this season. He has only pitched into the seventh inning twice this year, and he has failed to reach the sixth inning in five of his past six starts.

The strikeouts are down and the walks are up. These are not great trends for a pitcher the Giants hope to trade in the near future. Ray's fastball velocity remains healthy at 93.3 MPH, but he is not locating it with consistency.

Recent performance can be stretched and collapsed to mean a few different things. If the Giants trade Ray now, his value might be at a low point, considering that he is on an expiring deal. However, if they wait for him to string together a couple of good outings, that could help build a market and net a better return. Either way, the Giants will want Ray to rebound soon.

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