With the Cubs in Pittsburgh over the weekend, their attention may have been drawn to the other side of the country. Robbie Ray, a left-hander who is widely expected to be traded before the deadline, took the mound for the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Saturday. A reporter for Bleed Cubbie Blue was there to watch.
The outing only reinforced Ray’s value. He threw six shutout innings against the Los Angeles Angels, appearing to do so with minimal effort. The Angels are far from a powerhouse, but the performance was nonetheless clean. Mike Trout managed two singles and a walk off Ray; nobody else accomplished much.
Ray’s career has been a study in peaks and valleys. He pitched effectively for several years in Arizona before being traded to Toronto during the 2020 pandemic season. In 2021, he won the AL Cy Young Award with the Blue Jays. That earned him a multi-year deal with Seattle, where he had one solid year and then injuries intervened. Tommy John surgery followed, limiting him to a single start in 2023. After a trade to the Giants, he made just seven starts in 2024. He returned to health with a strong 2025 and has continued that form this season.
With a salary of $25 million, Ray is a pending free agent. That means roughly $8 million remains on his deal for the remainder of the season. The Cubs have the payroll flexibility to absorb that without a problem. If they were to acquire him, they might not need to part with a significant prospect.
The source suggests a possible package involving right-hander Will Sanders and infielder Angel Cepeda. Those are the kinds of names that could get a deal done. Whether the Cubs would be willing to make that move is another question entirely.