San Francisco Giants starter Robbie Ray dominated the San Diego Padres as trade rumors swirl.
The San Francisco Giants cruised to a 4-1 victory over the San Diego Padres, mostly thanks to another incredible start from Robbie Ray.
Even at 34 years old, it seems like the left-handed pitcher continues to get better. He's set to become a free agent at the end of the season, so it'll be interesting what kind of contract he's given.
Ray is making $25 million this season, a number that the Giants are willing to stomach part of in order to pursue a trade.
With this season being a lost cause, the team has absolutely nothing to lose by trading Ray. It isn't easy to see come to light, especially after how great he's been lately, but simply put, the Giants have nothing to play for this season and they'd be shooting themselves in the foot by not capitalizing on his return.
Ray's emotions finally set in
The Tennessee native did everything in his power to put all of the trade talks behind him, but he went out and delivered a six-inning gem for the Giants in what could've been his final start for San Francisco.
"With the Trade Deadline coming up, I just tried to put everything out of my head as far as leading up to this start,” Ray said, according to MLB.com. “But it obviously comes up now that this could be my last start in a Giants uniform.”
Manager Tony Vitello added, "He’s so good at managing innings and navigating his way through the lineup the entire game."
Ray's ERA in the month of July is 2.00 as his season total has gone down from 4.07 to 3.08 in just over a month's time. Since June 1, he has the second best ERA in all of baseball (1.65).
Ray thankful for his time with Giants
Should that have been his final start, Ray expressed how grateful and thankful he was to have pitched for San Francisco these past few years.
"I’m super thankful that they gave me the opportunity mid-rehab to come over here and continue the rehab process with the guys they have over here," Ray said. "The training staff has been amazing. I was given the opportunity to pitch... I think that was the biggest thing. Get back on the field and do what I love to do.”
Ray said he feels like he's been locked in lately, adding he felt like he was "kind of on cruise control" during his most recent start against the Padres.
It's not ideal to see the Giants trade Ray while he's this hot, but that same argument presents itself the other way around. Ray is likely peaking at this point in time, so the Giants have to evaluate just how much value they can get from a trade, There are a ton of buyers out there who need another arm in their starting rotation.
