The San Francisco Giants have made a trade, and it's not one of those deals that requires an extensive FanGraphs investigation or a Baseball America subscription.
According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Giants are acquiring Seattle Mariners starter Robbie Ray in exchange for Mitch Haniger and Anthony DeSclafani.
Passan reports that Ray, 32, who is coming off Tommy John surgery, is not expected to return until after the All-Star Break. He is owed $73 million over the next three seasons, but has an opt-out available after this season on the final two years and $50 million.
Haniger, 33, meanwhile, has two years and $32.5 million remaining - $19 million in 2024, and a $17.5 million player option for 2025 - while DeSclafani, also 33, is in the final year of a deal which will pay him $12 million.
DeSclafani had a 4.88 ERA last season in 18 starts after missing most of 2022, while Haniger played just 61 games. He's had an injury-riddled career.
In other words, the Giants shipped off two injury-prone players to acquire a potential half-season rental of a former Cy Young winner coming off Tommy John surgery. If it pays off, the Giants get a star left-hand pitcher for at least the second half of the season, and be rid of an outfielder they didn't need, while upgrading at starting pitcher.
Ray could, however, fail to return to form and leave the Giants on the hook for two years and $50 million, while DeSclafani and Haniger could perform well on the final year of their deals. There's obviously a middle ground somewhere in there.
On the face of it, it seemed like the trade would save the Giants $8 million, but that doesn't include cash that The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reports San Francisco will send to Seattle as part of the deal.
The Athletic's Andrew Baggarly reported that it's a "cash neutral" deal, with neither team saving or losing space. The Giants will send roughly $3 million to Seattle in the deal.
Rosenthal subsequently reported that the Mariners are working on a (still-pending) deal to acquire Rays outfielder Luke Raley in exchange for infielder José Caballero.
Ray posted a 2.84 ERA in his Cy Young season with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021 before signing a five-year $115 million deal with the Mariners that offseason. He posted a 3.71 ERA with the Mariners in 2022 and played just one game in 2023, posting an 8.10 ERA, before needing Tommy John surgery on a torn flexor tendon.
This Giants trade comes two days after Farhan Zaidi told Tim Kawakami on the TK Show that he was seeking to acquire a starting pitcher, and that he expected MLB offseason moves to "ramp up". Listen to that full interview above, or find that full story here.