Although Diamondbacks left-hander Robbie Ray reportedly isn’t on the block, he’s nonetheless drawing trade interest, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Both the Astros and Phillies “are very interested” in Ray, Cafardo writes.
Arizona made one notable future-oriented move earlier this offseason when it traded superstar first baseman Paul Goldschmidt to St. Louis, though indications are the Diamondbacks aren’t set to rebuild. As a result, the club may keep Ray and other valuable veterans with the hope that it’ll bounce back from an 82-win 2018 next season. It’s clear, though, that Ray stands out as one of the D-backs’ most appealing trade chips.
Just 27 years old, Ray is fresh off his fourth straight productive season in the desert, where he has posted a 3.84 ERA/3.81 FIP with 11.03 K/9, 4.00 BB/9 and a 42.5 percent groundball rate in 587 2/3 innings since 2015. Ray did experience some travails in 2018, an injury-shortened season in which he logged an ugly walk rate (5.09 per nine), a low groundball percentage (39.2) and an unspectacular FIP (4.31) over 123 2/3 frames. At the same time, though, Ray managed a respectable ERA (3.93) and, among hurlers who threw at least 120 innings, finished fifth in K/9 (12.01), 17th in swinging-strike rate (12.9 percent) and 26th in infield fly percentage (11.9).
Because Ray’s a proven, in-his-prime starter with two years of affordable control remaining – he’ll make a projected $6.1MM in 2019 – it’s likely he has garnered interest from several teams besides Houston and Philadelphia this offseason. Regardless, the fact that those two clubs are eyeing Ray makes sense.
While the Astros’ starting unit features three established veterans in co-aces Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole and solid mid-rotation arm Collin McHugh, they’ve already said goodbye to Charlie Morton in free agency, and Dallas Keuchel may be next to sign elsewhere. Further, before free agency commenced, the Astros lost Lance McCullers Jr. for 2019 on account of Tommy John surgery. As a result, their rotation has two question marks in it heading into next season, and each of Verlander, Cole and McHugh are slated to hit the open market a year from now. Ray would help cover for their potential 2020 exits to some degree.
The Phillies’ rotation isn’t facing as much upheaval over the next year as the Astros’, though Philly could cut ties with Jake Arrieta next winter. For now, Arrieta and ace Aaron Nola are entrenched in the Phils’ rotation going into 2019, with Nick Pivetta, Vince Velasquez, Zach Eflin and Jerad Eickhoff currently looking like the favorites to battle it out for the remaining three spots. Pivetta, Velasquez and Eflin had difficulty preventing runs in 2018, however, while Eickhoff totaled a mere 5 1/3 innings in the bigs on account of serious injury issues.
Adding Ray would be a good move for Phillies who need a good reliable LHP SP
Yeah.
A guy with his walk rate and command issues is reliable.
About as reliable as a flat tire.
Wonder if they’d do a package with the Reds centered around Jonathan India and Tyler Mahle.
I’m sure Mahle and India would be enough. If they offered that up I think the deal would be done today.
As a Reds fan I wouldn’t like that trade. Mahle has had flashes of looking very good and is controllable for 5 more years. India is our 1st Round pick from last year. I like that the Reds are trying to be competitive, but we can’t be trading all our prospects and put our self back for the future. With that said, I really like Ray. The Braves should be in on Ray big time along with other win now teams.
You make a good point. However, I think of all the young pitchers the Reds have right now, Mahle has both the most value and redundancy. Within a year or two, Greene, Santillan, and Gutierrez will arrive. And in the mean time Ray will be pitching in the Reds rotation.
I think you could get it done with Stephenson if you’re including India. He’s a good looking prospect. To be honest I think India for Ray is more than fair.
Nobody is going to want Stephenson’s 84 walls in 133 IP. That looks like a lost cause.
I agree. That’s why I said India and Stephenson is enough. Stephenson is purely a rebound candidate/lotto ticket throw in. I don’t think 2 seasons of Ray nets you that much. He’s not a TOR arm.
I think the Reds are trying to be a win-now team. They have the prospect capital to trade for Ray or Kluber or Realmuto or Haniger, likely more then one of them. They are trying to hold onto as many prospects as possible, though, and build a sustainable long-term winner. Robbie Ray, as much as I like him, isn’t going to put the Reds in 1st place, and he’s not worth trading India and Mahle for.
a deal with the Reds crossed my mind too. Don’t forget this is the Reds 150th anniversary season, the FO might be throwing haymakers to cobble together a contender
I strongly doubt the anniversary has a single thing to do with it.
How can it be their 150th season? They folded for like 7 years.
1881 is the current reds team
Team founded in 1869 is now the braves
There next team was kicked out for violating rules and their third team is the current one.
Oldest team in baseball is the braves
That actually trips up a lot of people, even die hard Reds fans. They don’t realize the iteration we’re watching today isn’t the professional club founded by the Wrights.
And even “professional” is a misnomer. The Reds were simply the first club to _admit_ that they paid their players. Other clubs had been doing that since the Civil War (maybe before), but under the table.
(As an aside: nothing did more to popularize the game than the Civil War. Troops had lots of down time and played a version of baseball to amuse themselves, spreading the game all through the Union.)
And the Yankees we’re originaly the Baltimore Orioles.
Neat to see the Cubs possibly second oldest team. They started in 1870 as Chicago White Stockings.
DBacks fan here. I’d do that in a heartbeat. Maybe another lotto ticket from the Reds minor league system along with it but that’s a solid return
I like how these reports always show up when there is nothing else going on. He’s not even been mentioned that they want to trade him. It’s like “Braves interested in Mike Trout” “Phillies interested in Max Scherzer”. That’s nice, I’m interested in being a millionaire and banging Jessica Alba, but I’m pretty sure that won’t happen.
You should PM her and take a shot.
I would probably need that million bucks first
Blue pills first
Nobody wants to be a millionaire. Everyone wants to spend a million dollars.
Nope, Id love to be a millionaire. Im cool living modestly, itd just be nice to be able to go to Red Lobster once a week.
Something is right in the universe.
With the infinite probability drive, EVERYTHING is possible.
Cheddar biscuits…amirite?
When you’re a team that’s already traded off it’s best player, and have made it clear that you’re entering a rebuild, you’re going to get questions about other players on your team that hold some value.
mlb1225 Really? You think it’s clear the Dbacks are entering a rebuild? Maybe it would be wise to read what GM Hazen has said repeatedly…the Dbacks are NOT entering a rebuild. It’s been another slow rumor day. Two weeks ago these teams inquired about Ray and were given a flat “NO!” Ray isn’t going anywhere unless somebody absolutely overwhelms the Dbacks with an extreme overpay. Nobody on this board has proposed anything that would remotely interest the Dbacks.
Hahahahahahahahah!
…….or Notre Dame can play with Clemson,lol
Heard she has the herpes. Better wrap it up.
LOLOLOL. I’m on my phone so not able to up vote you even though they have no meaning.
Crazy to have that walk rate and post a sub 4 ERA
He usually breaks down around the 5th inning.
An aspiring Joe Blanton?
Astro pitching bleak post 2019. Extensions gonna have expensive tags. Ray gonna have expensive prospect tag. But core is now and winning is now.
Go get Ray for Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez, and Yuri Gurriel. Then follow on, bring in EE from Mariners.
Yuli wouldn’t be added to that trade, the diamondback don’t want his contract. I really don’t think they would give a top ten and a top 100. IMO
Ray is not worth that much lol
Yuli is contract dump now, oldish, badish, costy. More prospect to grease big move through small hole.
Gurriel is on a 2/18. If you think that’s anywhere near bad enough for them to give up Kyle Tucker you’re insane.
Arizona traded the face of their franchise and want to compete? Tear it down. Trade Peralta, Ray, and anything else not bolted down. Try to do it better next time.
They had the opportunity to have a long-lasting championship window and blew it in lopsided trades. Imagine how they would have looked the last couple of years and into the future with Ender Inciarte, Dansby Swanson, Jean Segura, and Mitch Haniger in their lineups.
Well to be fair they didn’t have enough of a middle infield to hold Ahmed, Swanson and segura. Ahmed has been better than Swanson as Well. Miller had some trade value then. They over payed in that trade for sure but it took hindsight to know Shelby Miller would be this horrific. Arguably the dumber move was trading Touki after giving him a multi million dollar bonus to cut 10MM of payroll. Never made any sense.
@jbigz12
Still holding out hope Dansby can put it together for a full season.
Way too much for Ray. No Tucker, Alverez and Guruel should be enough.
If I’m the Braves, Brewers, Phillies, or Astros I’m coming hard for Ray. Really any WS contender, but especially those teams.
Frazier and Florial for Ray– get it done, Cashman!
4 LHP in the rotation? Whew!
Just exceeded the number of trolls allotted you for 2018, and 2019 for that matter.
Cereal……
I would hope that Adam6710 is a troll account, otherwise with the number of times he says “get it done, Cashman!” the Yankees would need a 227 man roster.
It is, just go look at what he posted in the Sonny Gray article., and when he’s called on things the childish insults fly. There’s a list of these guys creating accounts for this, but thank God the admin is starting to ban them.
I shamed them into it…
They kept deleting my “first!” posts (rightfully so), but kept allowing people to have screen names like Heywood Jablowme.
What’s a troll account? I’m just mocking my fellow Yankee fans and having fun with people who don’t get what i’m doing. I mean, I thought I made it fairly obvious…
You da man!
Just don’t get Elaine on your bad side.
Wouldn’t mind the phillies getting gio on a 2 year deal.
Don’t know if he is better than what they already have
agreed. I like Gio but he doesn’t represent a true upgrade. I think it’s a pretty safe bet to think Pivetta will be more productive than Gio. It’s tough to say what kind of steps forward (if any) Eflin and Eickhoff will take, but as a Phillies fan I’d rather see them move closer toward their ceiling than watch Gio’s descent into mediocrity.
Probably gonna have to trade one of the young pitchers for a bat if Harpchado doesn’t work out.
who would not be interested in Ray.
seriously.. he could’ve easily added a dozen more teams to this article where a trade would make sense to some degree.. TB, ATL, CIN, NYY, NYM, MIN, just to name a few
Exactly…Cafardo also reports that SOME teams are interested in Mookie Betts…….
His career home / road splits are crazy.
Phillies get: Robbie Ray
Dbacks get: Maikel Franco, Zach Eflin, JoJo Romero, Arquimedes Gamboa and Ranger Suarez
Sounds like it might have to be more painful than that, probably needs Medina in that deal in place of JoJo and Ranger
In that case, I’ll pass. I’m not just some homer over-evaluating Phillies prospects here–that’s just A LOT to give up. When was the last time 5 players were given up for an above-average-but-not-elite pitcher with only two years left? …and don’t get me wrong, Ray would be an excellent upgrade to the Phils rotation, but the Phils have put a lot of time into this rebuild and I wouldn’t want to see it decimated for a guy like Robbie Ray. Houston is a better fit, if that is the price tag–their farm system can take a hit and they already have all of the pieces for another World Series–except one pitcher, maybe. They Phils have too many other holes to fill to invest so much in two years of Ray.
Medina and Eflin + for Robbie Ray? Hell no. Robbie Ray is a. #3 at best with 2 years of control. You aren’t getting a top 100 prospect and a pitcher who is honestly not that much worse right now in Eflin. Ray’s strikeouts look nice and all but the guy has yet to eclipse 174 innings. This isn’t some TOR pitcher here. IF you got Eflin and Suarez or Romero that’d be a good deal for AZ
thats too much for robbie ray
Why not add Nola while you’re at it?
Braves are very interested in Mike Trout.
… and where did you hear this??? 🙂
The only way the Phillies can get players that are Good is by Trade – FREE AGENTS Don’t want their Money …. Nobody wants to play there.
Santana, Arrieta, and McCutcheon had no problem with the Phillies money. Yasmani Grandal will tell you where free agents don’t want to play.
Spot on.
Pee Wee Klentak and Andy “Benefiting from Nepotism” McPhail are piledriving the Phillies organization into the dirt.
Gabe Kapler is an egomaniacal Hollywood hipster who brushes his teeth with coconut oil. He irritates people with his passive-aggressive homoerotic posturing.
Plus he’s a donkey.
The Phillies are a shell of what they were under Ruin Tomorrow Jr. Now that’s saying something.
Ray, Grienke, Kluber. Phils need to be in on each of them. If they managed to sign Machado, you can put Bohm in a deal, hed be blocked at 1st and 3rd and they have a hoard of OF prospects. Unless they think hell be Pat the Bat 30+ bombs a year in LF…
I heard Baltimore is interested in a deal with Trout to the Orioles for their whole Team
If that happened, it would just be another season of Trout playing by himself. He’s got to be used to it by now.
58th
Looks like the Diamondbacks are dumping every good player and claiming they are (ahem) rebuilding. Sounds more like the D-Backs are trying to field a truly bad team so that attendance at the stadium drops and TV viewers change the TV channel. This will be followed by ownership demanding a new stadium (of course, the ‘old’ stadium will be the cause of lower attendance/revenues). Finally, there will be the threat of The Move to another city. It’s all about $$$$$ for the ownership.
well…that escalated quickly…
from a single robbie ray trade rumor to the end of Arizona DBacks baseball as we know it.
Phillies are interested in anyone and everyone. I’m a Phillies fan and I got to tell you their position prospects are all average future major leaguers and they have 2 or 3 pitchers that “might” be good. If you have to move people to get a stud pitcher do it and if you want free agents spend stupid money on short contracts no more than 4 years. we all know players break down and it’s a crab shoot if you sign someone long term and that hampers the team for a decade. ie Howard.
Imagine being this stupid.
The Howard deal hampered the Phillies for a decade?
He signed a 5-year extension before tearing his Achilles. And it only hampered them from 2012 through 2016.
And at the price tag, it didn’t prevent the Phillies from not acquiring talent, drafting better or making sound personnel decisions.
Regardless, you said a decade. What a joke.