MLB Insider Touts Another San Francisco Giants Cy Young Winner As Top Free Agent

The San Francisco Giants have another award-winning free-agent pitcher to account for as the offseason approaches.

Aug 4, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Robbie Ray (23) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds in the first inning at Great American Ball Park. / Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

The buzz around the San Francisco Giants is about two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell, the left-hander who has an opt-out in his contract that allows him to hit free agency.

Last weekend USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that Snell planned to exercise the option and hit the open market for the second straight offseason.

But the Giants have a second veteran pitcher that can hit free agency after the season — assuming he decides to trigger his opt-out.

That pitcher is Robbie Ray, and like Snell he’s a former Cy Young winner who didn’t really start to get going until the second half of this season.

In spite of that, MLB insider Jim Bowden of The Athletic named Ray the No. 24 free agent in his recent Top 50 rankings.

San Francisco dealt Mitch Haniger, Anthony DeSclafani, and cash considerations to the Mariners for Ray in January, even though San Francisco knew the 32-year-old would not be ready to pitch until the season’s second half.

That’s because Ray had Tommy John surgery last year. He worked his way through injury rehab, which included some stellar outings in the minor leagues, before the Giants activated him on July 24 from the 60-day injured list.

Snell has surged in the last month with a stretch that includes a no-hitter. Ray’s performance has been solid, but not quite at that level.

Ray is 2-2 with a 6.00 ERA in five starts, during which he has struck out 30 and walked 12 in 21 innings. With San Francisco clinging to hope that it can claim the final wild card berth in the National League, the Giants need Ray to pitch like the Cy Young winner he was back in 2021.

Still, Bowden — a former MLB general manager — sees a market for Ray, should he decide to test it.

“How he pitches in August and September will drive that decision and determine his free-agent value, but he’s off to a solid start,” Bowden wrote.

Ray holds player options worth $25 million for each of the 2025 and 2025 seasons. He could trigger the option for next season and stay with the Giants. Or, he could opt out and seek a new deal on the strength of this year’s final stretch and his Cy Young award, which he won with Toronto in 2021. That year he went 13-7 with a 2.84 ERA.

That was the season before he joined the Seattle Mariners on a long-term contract the Giants inherited when the trade was made.