The Padres’ season ended Wednesday night, and Robbie Ray was on the wrong side of it. San Diego’s loss to the Milwaukee Brewers officially knocked the club out of the playoffs, and Ray took the loss - a fitting final turn in a trade that has made the Giants look sharp.
San Francisco moved Ray at the trade deadline because he was headed for free agency after the season and carried real value as a trade chip. The return was two prospects, Miguel Mendez and Joniel Hernandez. For the Giants, that deal now looks even better because the Padres got a short-term arm who never really delivered.
Ray posted a 5.02 ERA in nine starts for San Diego, then allowed two earned runs in 2 and 2/3 innings in Game 1 of the NLDS against Milwaukee. The Padres tried him again in relief in Game 4, but that outing went sideways too. Ray gave up one earned run in one inning, breaking a tie before the Brewers pulled away for good.
In the end, San Francisco got two young players who could help down the line or become trade pieces later, while San Diego got a few months of a veteran pitcher who wound up disappointing. That’s a tidy piece of business for the Giants, especially considering the opponent involved.
After the Camilo Doval trade, Buster Posey has already shown he can make the most of a team that isn’t winning much, and this Ray deal only adds to that impression.
What happens next for Ray is unclear. He’s 35, and while he wasn’t washed - his numbers with San Francisco before the trade were respectable - a major payday in free agency doesn’t look likely.
A return to either the Giants or the Padres feels unlikely, too. The Giants would rather lean into younger options with more upside, and bringing Ray back probably wouldn’t do much for fan confidence heading into next season.
Ray was a useful Giant, and San Francisco would have preferred a cleaner outcome for him than this. But watching him help speed along San Diego’s exit from the postseason? That didn’t exactly sting.
The Brewers now move on to face the Dodgers in the NLCS, and for Giants fans, that matchup is a lot easier to root into than anything involving San Diego. Either way, the Ray trade looks smarter now than it did in July.
In Other News...
Scott Bandura Gave Giants Fans Hope Then Raised A Tough Question
Scott Banduras 2026 season started quietly in Double-A, but he forced his way upward with a strong stretch at Triple-A before getting a September look from the Giants. For a club that is always searching for homegrown help, his climb offered a reminder that a prospect can change the conversation fast when the bat starts playing at every stop along the way.
The challenge now is whether that momentum can carry over. Banduras first taste of the majors was uneven, as he hit .207 with limited production, and the Giants head into the next season with plenty of competition for outfield openings. The question is no longer whether he earned a shot. It is whether he did enough to stay in the mix once the roster battle really begins. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies Face A Costly Luis Arraez Problem They Can't Ignore
The Phillies deadline move for Luis Arraez was built around the kind of contact hitter they could plug into the middle of the lineup and lean on for the stretch run. Philadelphia acquired him from the Giants in exchange for prospects Ramon Marquez and Marty Gair, a deal that also changed the shape of the clubs infield picture as it looked ahead beyond October.
Now the more uncomfortable part of the equation is coming into view, because Arraez is expected to reach free agency and the Phillies have not exactly settled the long-term question. If they decide not to bring him back, the club could wind up having paid a notable prospect price for a short rental, leaving the front office with another infield decision to sort through after the season. [Read more 🡒]
Mauricio Dubon Just Gave Giants Fans An Uncomfortable Reminder
Mauricio Dubns name still carries a familiar edge for Giants fans, and not just because he once fit into the clubs infield picture. In the Braves Game 4 loss to the Dodgers in the NLDS, Dubn was at the center of a tense October moment, part of a game that sent Los Angeles on to the NLCS against the Brewers. Even with the disappointment attached to that night, Dubns season has reinforced what many around the game already know: he has grown into a versatile, useful player who can help in a variety of ways.
For San Francisco, though, the sight of Dubn in a high-leverage postseason game can still prompt a little unease, because it serves as a reminder of what the organization moved away from during a roster squeeze. The Giants had to make some difficult choices when they were sorting through players with limited margin for error, and Dubn was one of them. He has since continued to build value elsewhere, which only makes the old decision feel more complicated in hindsight. [Read more 🡒]