The Padres didn’t have to squint to see Robbie Ray’s appeal. On Thursday night at Petco Park, the Giants left-hander gave San Diego a pretty clear preview of what he could bring if the clubs line up on a deal before Monday’s 3 p.m. PT trade deadline.
Ray worked six innings against the Padres, giving up one run on four hits while striking out six. The outing pushed him to his 10th win of the season and trimmed his ERA to 3.08.
That start may also have been his last in a Giants uniform. Ray is widely expected to be moved before the deadline, and his contract is part of the equation: he’s in the final season of a five-year, $115 million deal and is owed $7.4 million for the rest of the year.
The Padres have already been linked to him. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported San Diego has “shown interest” in the veteran lefty, though fitting the money into the payroll is the real hurdle.
“Have the Padres shown interest in Ray? That’s the word,” Acee wrote.
“Do they have the payroll flexibility to add the $7.4 million remaining on his 2026 salary? That would take some serious gymnastics.”
ESPN’s Jeff Passan also pointed to Ray as the “best fit” for San Diego before the deadline.
“A.J. Preller, the Padres' president of baseball operations, is creative enough to thread the needle on a simultaneous add-and-subtract play,” Passan wrote. “Flip a reliever or two, add a starter or two, and maybe there's enough to sneak back into the postseason.”
For San Diego, the attraction is obvious. The farm system is among the worst in baseball, which makes landing a premium starter without taking on salary a tough ask. Ray gives the Padres a way to address the rotation without paying the full prospect price that usually comes with a pitcher of his caliber.
If San Diego gets the green light to absorb his contract, the Giants would likely need to settle for a lighter return. That would still serve San Francisco’s purposes: clear more than $7 million off the books and bring back a prospect before Ray reaches free agency.
And the fit on the field is easy to see. Right now, the Padres’ rotation is basically down to Michael King and Walker Buehler. Ray’s 122.1 innings would rank second on the team behind King’s 125, his 3.08 ERA would lead Padres starters, and his 107 strikeouts would sit just behind King’s 109.
A rotation of King, Ray and Buehler would at least carry San Diego through mid-August, when the club is hoping right-handers Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove can return. If that happens, the Padres could suddenly have a rotation that looks like a strength again as they head into September and, they hope, October.
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