MLB Trade Rumors: Robbie Ray Heads to Chicago In Proposed Deadline Deal
The San Francisco Giants are hoping to make some deals and recoup some assets as a seller at the trade deadline in less than four weeks. And while the big-ticket items like Rafael Devers, Willy Adames and Matt Chapman will be hard to unload due to their onerous contracts, one of the names who should be tradeable is a former Cy Young winner.
Robbie Ray is a pending free agent, so all an acquiring team would have to take on is the remainder of his $25M contract for this year, which would come out to about $8M after the trade deadline.
He's having a solid year once again for the Giants, with a 3.45 ERA, though he doesn't bring the fastball or the strikeouts that he once did, after missing most of two straight seasons in 2023 and '24 due to a torn left flexor tendon and a subsequent Tommy John surgery.
White Sox desperately need a solid starter, without robbing the farm system
Over on the South Side of Chicago, the White Sox are in a virtual tie for first place in the AL Central Division with the Cleveland Guardians. Coming off three straight 100-loss years, the White Sox want to keep this Cinderella season going right into the playoffs.
But they'll need help in the starting rotation if that's to be the case. Davis Martin's sensational start to the season has come crashing to earth in recent weeks. After a 1.61 ERA through his first nine starts, he has a 6.34 ERA in his last seven outings.
After that, other than Sean Burke, the ChiSox' rotation is not one they can take confidently into a playoff race, much less the postseason itself.
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report has proposed this trade to help solve that problem, at least in part:
Chicago White Sox acquire:
- LHP Robbie Ray
San Francisco Giants acquire:
- LHP Shane Murphy
- RHP Duncan Davitt
The White Sox are still in a rebuild, to be honest, so they won't be in the mix for some of the biggest names out there at the deadline. That's why Ray is a nice fallback plan.
"Even if they're buying, they are presumably going to be keeping their eyes on the long-term prize and reluctant to part with any key pieces of the farm system for a short-term solution," writes Miller. "That's going to make it nearly impossible for them to win the bidding wars for Tarik Skubal, Freddy Peralta or Joe Ryan."
Ray, however, would bring a solid, experienced left-hander to the Windy City and offer a legitimate big-league arm for their rotation.
As discussed, the Giants would not be getting any elite prospects by any means.
Murphy and Davitt are a couple of Triple-A pitchers in their mid-20s, both of whom are in the lower-end of Chicago's Top 30 prospects list. As a rental, Ray isn't going to bring a serious haul back for the Giants. But it's better than losing him for nothing in free agency.
