Robbie Ray is heading to the Bay Area. Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Giants counter Dodgers' moves with trade for former Cy Young winner

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 1/6/24

After losing out to the rival Los Angeles Dodgers on both Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto earlier this offseason , the San Francisco Giants landed a former AL Cy Young winner in a trade on Friday.

Robbie Ray is coming off Tommy John surgery and is owed $73M over the last three years of his contract, though he has an opt-out after the 2024 season. He's expected to return after the All-Star break. Mitch Haniger, a longtime Mariner who left for San Francisco in free agency…
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 5, 2024

Mitch Haniger and Robbie Ray each receive a $1M assignment bonus for being traded. As @extrabaggs reported, this will be a cash-neutral deal for 2024, with the Giants sending $3M to Seattle (Ray is due $23M this year and Haniger and Anthony DeSclafani will make $29M).
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 5, 2024

With the trade to the Bay Area, Robbie Ray rejoins the NL West after having previously spent five-plus seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2015 to 2020. Ray earned the only All-Star honor of his career in 2017 with the D-backs and finished the year with a career-best mark of 15-5 to go along with a 2.89 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 218 strikeouts across 162 innings pitched covering 28 starts.

The southpaw has shown tantalizing stuff over his career but has been prone to wildness and giving up the long ball, most obviously in 2019 when he was second in MLB in walks (career-high 84) and third in the senior circuit in home runs allowed (30). During a disastrous campaign in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Ray was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays. He then won the 2021 AL Cy Young award.

The 32-year-old was dominant that season, finishing 12-7 with both career and league bests in ERA (2.84), WHIP (1.04), strikeouts (248) and innings pitched (193 1/3). Ray cashed in on the career year by signing a five-year, $115 million deal with the Seattle Mariners.

He regressed slightly in 2022, going 12-12 with a 3.71 ERA and 1.19 WHIP and made only one start in 2023 before undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Giants first-year manager Bob Melvin will look to add Ray to a starting rotation this summer after his recovery is complete. The rotation is led by 2023 NL Cy Young runner-up Logan Webb and All-Star righty Alex Cobb.

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