The red-hot San Diego Padres have landed a red-hot starting pitcher. The Padres are set to acquire veteran lefty Robbie Ray from the NL West rival San Francisco Giants, reports The Athletic. Prospects Miguel Mendez, a right-handed pitcher, and Joniel Hernandez, a shortstop, are headed back to San Francisco.
Ray, 34, has quietly been one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball over the last two months. He's pitched to a 1.65 ERA with strong underlying numbers (3.28 FIP) in 10 starts and 60 innings since June 1. Eight times in those 10 starts he allowed no more than one earned run, and five times he allowed zero earned runs.
Rotation help was a must for the Padres, who have used bullpen games regularly over the last week or so. Their current rotation depth chart looks like this:
- RHP Michael King
- LHP Robbie Ray
RHP Nick Pivetta(out with torn flexor tendon)RHP Joe Musgrove(out with Tommy John surgery rehab)RHP Lucas Giolito(out with elbow inflammation)- RHP Walker Buehler
- RHP Germán Márquez
- RHP Randy Vásquez
- LHP JP Sears
San Diego's starters have a 4.89 ERA since July 1, a 4.68 ERA since June 1, and a 4.66 ERA for the season. They're 25th with 4.3 WAR from their starters, and 1.9 of that 4.3 is King. The Padres have no one they can count on for quality innings other than King. Ray should provide that. There's still room for San Diego to add another starter before the deadline, if possible.
Eight wins in the last nine games have moved the Padres to one game behind the third wild-card spot. As recently as a week ago, there was speculation they would trade All-Star closer Mason Miller or standout setup man Adrian Morejon. That won't happen now, though. They're in the race and they're adding to the staff, not selling.
As for the Giants, they are near the bottom of the league standings with a 47-65 record, and are properly selling in advance of Monday's 6 p.m. ET trade deadline. Ray went to the Padres, Luis Arraez went to the Philadelphia Phillies, and others like Heliot Ramos and JT Brubaker could be moved as well.
