Robbie Ray – Left-Handed Starting Pitcher – Arizona Diamondbacks
Robbie Ray has been closely followed by the Astros brass. Brian Murray wrote about this when the news broke that the Astros were interested in a partnership with the Diamondbacks to bring Ray’s services to Houston. MLBTradeRumors were also on the Robbie Ray to Astros bandwagon.
It’s not like GM Jeff Luhnow to express interest and then leave it at that. Expect his name to pop up again when the time comes. Especially if the recent string of bad outings from Brad Peacock and Colin McHugh continues. If bets were on the table, Peacock to the pen and Ray to the rotation would be the outcome Astros fans would love to see.
In this early season, Ray’s production is a bit convoluted to weed out. His FIP is lower than last year at 4.11, which is still a number that is a little disconcerting. However, his strikeouts remain high posting 200+ strikeouts in 2016-2017 seasons. Ray’s ability to miss the bat is well documented
Ray also is due $6 million this year, the bonus being, he has one more season of arbitration to go. It almost aligns up nicely as a Cole-Clone-style scenario.
Contract: 1 year $6 million – ARB in 2020 – FA in 2021
Diamondback Needs: SP, SS, 2B, RP
Likelihood of happening: Low to Surprised on July 31st