Giants are ready to sell low to win big at the deadline

MLB Trade Rumors broke the news Thursday, citing ESPN's Jeff Passan: San Francisco has signaled to interested clubs it'll cover a chunk of what's left on Ray's deal to grease the wheels on a trade before the deadline.

MLB Trade Rumors

@mlbtraderumors

Giants Open To Covering Part Of Robbie Ray's Salary In Trade t.co/ISHdcp9ZIQ

Ray is in the final year of the 5-year, $115 million deal he signed with Seattle back in 2021, and he's still owed north of $8 million for the rest of this season. The Giants eating some of that isn't charity — it's strategy. Make him cheaper, more teams can afford to bid, and suddenly San Francisco is fielding offers instead of settling for one.

It's a smart-if-a-little-desperate play from a front office that's clearly in sell mode. Ray, Luis Arraez and Tyler Mahle are all reportedly on the block, and Ray's stat line makes the case for why teams should still want him even with the Giants picking up part of the tab. He's sitting on a 3.16 ERA across 116.2 innings, and since June 1 he's been one of the best starters in baseball — a 1.65 ERA over his last stretch of outings.

None of that comes without caveats. His strikeout and walk rates are down from his career norms, and his third-time-through-the-order numbers have scouts wary of using him deep into playoff games. But a third or fourth starter who can miss bats when he's on is exactly what contenders go shopping for in the final week of July, and a discount on the price tag only sweetens the deal.

For the Giants, this is really about maximizing return, not minimizing pain. Eating salary to drive up demand is a page straight out of the modern deadline playbook — get more teams in the bidding, let the prospect packages get competitive, and walk away from a lost season with something to show for it. Ray was reportedly starting what could be his final game in a Giants uniform against the Padres, so the clock is very much running.