The Padres have made their first move ahead of the trade deadline, and it goes straight to the heart of their biggest problem.
San Diego landed left-handed starter Robbie Ray from the Giants in an intra-divisional deal, adding a veteran arm to a rotation that badly needed one. In return, the Padres sent two prospects to San Francisco: Miguel Mendez and Joniel Hernandez.
Mendez, 24, is ranked as the Padres’ No. 4 prospect by MLB Pipeline. The right-hander has made 11 starts for Double-A San Antonio this season, posting a 4.93 ERA with 38 strikeouts across 34.2 innings.
Hernandez is a 17-year-old shortstop and San Diego’s No. 9 prospect. At the Dominican Summer League, he has hit .303 with four home runs, 43 RBIs and a .927 OPS in 41 games.
Ray is in the final year of the five-year, $115 million deal he signed, and he is owed more than $8 million the rest of the way. According to Dennis Lin of The Athletic, the Giants are covering half of that money, along with half of Ray’s $1 million assignment bonus.
Ray had been connected to San Diego for the past week, with the Padres reportedly showing interest before getting the deal done. He now joins the club for the stretch run as it tries to steady a rotation that has been stretched thin.
At the moment, the Padres have just two true starting pitchers in Michael King and Walker Buehler, while their 11-man bullpen is packed with multi-inning arms. With Ray now in the fold, they have three starters and are still waiting on possible returns from right-handers Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove and Lucas Giolito.
In Other News...
Giants Just Sent A Clear Message About What Comes Next
The Giants made an early-summer pitching shuffle by moving Tyler Mahle to Atlanta and bringing back right-handed reliever Anthony Molina, a deal that fits the kind of deadline posture the front office has been signaling. Mahles time in San Francisco was uneven, but the team had started to see him settle in a bit more as the season went along, which made his departure notable even in a market where clubs are constantly chasing bullpen help and roster flexibility.
Molina gives San Francisco another arm to sort through as the deadline approaches, and the move suggests the Giants are not treating this as a one-and-done swap. There is still more activity expected before the cutoff, and this trade may be the clearest indication yet that the Giants are willing to keep reshaping the staff if it helps them cover innings now and keep options open for what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Finally Have A Willy Adames Trade Opening To Watch
The Giants have spent the offseason listening on Willy Adames even after committing to him on a long-term deal, but the market has not exactly come roaring in. For a player with a hefty contract and a reputation that should play well at shortstop, San Francisco has had to wait for the right club to line up both the need and the willingness to take on the commitment.
One possible opening is in Boston, where the Red Sox are still looking for help at shortstop. If they cannot get what they want elsewhere, Adames could become a name to monitor, though any deal would still have to clear a few obvious hurdles for the Giants to move him at all. His no-trade clause gives him leverage, and the obligation on his contract runs deep enough to make any conversation more complicated than a simple swap of needs. [Read more 🡒]
Kevin Gausman Trade Just Set The Robbie Ray Deadline Bar
Kevin Gausmans move from Toronto to the Chicago Cubs has already given the pitching market a new reference point, and it comes with a familiar name for Giants fans. The right-hander, who previously spent time in San Francisco, was dealt in the final season of his Blue Jays contract for two prospects, a reminder that contenders will part with young talent for a proven arm when the timing lines up.
For the Giants, the deal naturally shifts the conversation to Robbie Ray and what his own market might look like if they decide to move him. San Francisco has already dipped into that trade lane recently with the acquisition of reliever Anthony Molina, so the front office knows how quickly deadlines can turn into roster shuffles. Gausmans return is the kind of benchmark that can shape expectations, even if the Giants still have to decide how far they want to push the idea. [Read more 🡒]