The San Diego Padres acquired veteran left-hander Robbie Ray from the San Francisco Giants on Monday in a deadline trade for two prospects.
The Padres (58-54) have won eight of nine to move one game back of the final NL wild-card playoff position, and this latest surge in their up-and-down season prompted general manager A.J. Preller to trade yet another chunk of his severely depleted farm system for another chance to win now.
San Diego gave up right-hander Miguel Mendez and 17-year-old shortstop Joniel Hernandez for the 34-year-old Ray, a former Cy Young Award winner who will be an unrestricted free agent this winter.
The Padres, who desperately needed a veteran starter for a rotation with the majors' fourth-highest ERA, also got cash considerations to pay part of Ray's $25 million salary.
Ray is 10-6 with a 3.08 ERA and 107 strikeouts in 122 2/3 innings this season, his third with San Francisco. He has been largely outstanding over the past two months, posting a 1.65 ERA since the start of June while allowing one earned run or fewer in nine of his past 11 starts.
Ray is the only starting pitcher to beat the Padres in the past 10 days, throwing six innings of four-hit ball at Petco Park in the Giants' 4-1 win last Thursday. Ray has won seven consecutive decisions.
Ray made his name and earned his first All-Star selection while pitching for Arizona from 2015-20. The Padres visit the Diamondbacks starting Monday night for a key four-game series between NL West rivals separated by one game in the wild-card standings.
Ray won his Cy Young with Toronto in 2021. He had Tommy John surgery in early 2023 while with Seattle, but he has returned to be a dependable starter for the Giants, earning another All-Star nod last season.
The Padres' recent success has been driven by an offense that has awoken from its first-half slumber, but their starting rotation is perilously thin due to injuries.
San Diego's only regular starting pitchers are Michael King and Walker Buehler, forcing the team to throw three bullpen games per rotation turn with Griffin Canning, Randy Vasquez and German Marquez anchoring the outings. Even after a surprisingly strong start to the season, San Diego's rotation has posted an ugly 4.66 ERA this year.
Opening Day starter Nick Pivetta has been out since April with a right elbow injury, but he is on track to return in late August. Earl season acquisition Lucas Giolito has been out since late June with elbow soreness, while veteran Joe Musgrove has not pitched this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in October 2024. Right-hander Yu Darvish is also out for the season.
The rotation woes contributed to a midseason slide that had the Padres looking like likely deadline sellers, with hard-selling closer Mason Miller possibly on the block. Ray's acquisitioned signaled that Preller is back in buyer mode.
Mendez and Hernandez were considered to be two of the top 10 prospects remaining in Preller's system, which has been decimated by years of deadline deals to chase this franchise's first championship with a roster built around sluggers Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado.
The Padres have made the playoffs in four of the past six seasons, a first in franchise history, but have reached just one NL Championship Series.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
