The SF Giants have two of the most obvious names to watch as the trade deadline approaches, but the return may not match the buzz around them.
Robbie Ray and Luis Arraez both landed on ESPN’s Jeff Passan’s list of the 25 most likely trade candidates ahead of the August 3 deadline, and his read on the market was pretty clear: don’t expect San Francisco to cash in for a massive haul.
On Ray, Passan said, “San Francisco should do pretty well for Robbie Ray, but we’re not talking top-hundred type prospect, more like a couple guys, one lottery ticket, one near big-league ready guy.”
That’s a solid return on paper, but it also underlines the reality here. Ray has been pitching well lately, yet the contract still matters, even with free agency coming after the season. The Giants could eat some of the money left on the deal to try to squeeze out a better prospect package, but even that probably won’t turn this into a blockbuster.
Jim Bowden’s mock trade with the St. Louis Cardinals was mentioned as a useful measuring stick for what San Francisco might get back for Ray, even if it doesn’t exactly light up the imagination.
Arraez, meanwhile, sounds like he could bring back something in the same neighborhood. Passan put it this way: “The Giants are going to want something good back, not gonna be a top-hundred guy but they’ll get a pretty decent prospect and I think the market there is going to be strong.”
That points to a return that likely looks a lot like Ray’s: maybe two prospects, with one closer to the majors and another further away.
It’s not a bad outcome, but it also may not be enough if these are the only two moves the Giants make. A team with a rising farm system could use a bigger injection of talent, and that’s where a player like Heliot Ramos comes into the picture, since he’s under team control beyond this season and could potentially bring back more.
Ray and Arraez still look like near-locks to be moved. The tougher truth is that rentals usually don’t fetch the biggest prizes, and teams aren’t going to empty the cupboard for a couple months of control unless the player is something truly special, like Tarik Skubal.
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