The red-hot San Diego Padres have landed a red-hot starting pitcher. The Padres have acquired veteran lefty Robbie Ray from the NL West rival San Francisco Giants, the teams announced. Prospects Miguel Mendez, a right-handed pitcher, and Joniel Hernandez, a shortstop, are headed back to San Francisco.
The two teams will split the $8 million or so owed to Ray over the rest of the season.
Ray, 34, has quietly been one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball over the last two months. He's pitched to a 1.65 ERA with strong underlying numbers (3.28 FIP) in 10 starts and 60 innings since June 1. Eight times in those 10 starts he allowed no more than one earned run, and five times he allowed zero earned runs.
Rotation help was a must for the Padres, who have used bullpen games regularly over the last week or so. Their current rotation depth chart looks like this:
- RHP Michael King
- LHP Robbie Ray
RHP Nick Pivetta(out with torn flexor tendon)RHP Joe Musgrove(out with Tommy John surgery rehab)RHP Lucas Giolito(out with elbow inflammation)- RHP Walker Buehler
- RHP Germán Márquez
- RHP Randy Vásquez
- LHP JP Sears
San Diego's starters have a 4.89 ERA since July 1, a 4.68 ERA since June 1, and a 4.66 ERA for the season. They're 25th with 4.3 WAR from their starters, and 1.9 of that 4.3 is King. The Padres have no one they can count on for quality innings other than King. Ray should provide that. There's still room for San Diego to add another starter before the deadline, if possible.
Eight wins in the last nine games have moved the Padres to one game behind the third wild-card spot. As recently as a week ago, there was speculation they would trade All-Star closer Mason Miller or standout setup man Adrian Morejon. That won't happen now, though. They're in the race and they're adding to the staff, not selling.
As for the Giants, they are near the bottom of the league standings with a 47-65 record, and are properly selling in advance of Monday's 6 p.m. ET trade deadline. Ray went to the Padres, Luis Arraez went to the Philadelphia Phillies, and others like Heliot Ramos and JT Brubaker could be moved as well.
MLB Pipeline ranked Mendez and Hernandez as the No. 4 and No. 9 prospects in San Diego's system, respectively. That said, the Padres have a very thin farm system. Their No. 4 prospect would be the No. 10 or 11 prospect in many other organizations.
Here now are our trade grades for the Ray to San Diego move.
San Diego Padres: A
Pitching chaos a little less chaotic now
The bar was on the floor here. The Padres had one credible major-league starter (King) and now have a second (Ray). They'll still have to run bullpen games each turn through the rotation, but at least now they have a second viable starter. Ray has been terrific the last few weeks and is more than an innings guy. He's an enormous upgrade for this San Diego rotation.
The prospect cost is reasonable and right in line with the "two prospects for a rental starter" precedent that has been established (see: Kevin Gausman to the Blue Jays). We're grading on a curve here. A living, breathing human might have gotten a B given the state of the Padres rotation. That makes Ray an easy A even if he doesn't continue on this two-month heater.
San Francisco Giants: B
The selloff continues
For Ray, one of the top rental starters on the market, the Giants landed a high upside arm in Mendez, albeit one who has missed most of the year with a shoulder injury (he recently returned to game action). Hernandez, 17, is a lottery ticket in the lowest levels of the minors. The Padres gave him a $1.4 million signing bonus as an international amateur free agent in January.
San Francisco assumed risk (Mendez's injury, Hernandez's proximity to the majors) to get considerable upside. That's a nice bit of business for a team having a disappointing season. Mendez's shoulder injury is enough to bump this from an A to a B. Shoulder trouble can be nasty business.
