Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Robbie Ray is not considered to be on the trade block, but he is drawing significant interest nonetheless.
One could easily imagine that the Arizona Diamondbacks are in rebuild mode. They have already traded Paul Goldschmidt to the St. Louis Cardinals, and have been rumored to be shopping Zach Greinke to anyone willing to take on his salary.Patrick Corbin, the staff ace last year, has moved on to the Nationals in free agency. Despite those moves, the Diamondbacks are not considered to be starting a rebuild – just moving on from high contracts and players they do not expect to sign.
With that being the case, starter Robbie Ray is not on the Diamondbacks trade block. Yet, other teams, particularly the Astros and Phillies, have been inquiring about Arizona’s new de facto ace. So far, the Diamondbacks have been resisting offers, saying that Ray is not available for trade.
Last season was a mixed bag for Ray. He was limited to only 24 starts last season due to a strained oblique, leading to his lowest innings total in the past four years. Over those 123.2 innings, he posted a decent 3.93 ERA and a 1.350 WHiP, striking out 165 batters. However, he struggled with his command, issuing 70 walks and allowing 19 homers.
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Even with those issues, it is understandable as to why teams like the Phillies and Astros would be interested in acquiring Ray. He is still under team control for two more years through arbitration, and is only projected to earn $6.1 million next year.
Ray is also just one year removed from his first All Star campaign. During his breakout 2017 campaign, he posted a 15-5 record, along with a 2.89 ERA and a 1.154 WHiP. Over 162 innings, Ray struck out 218 batters against only 71 walks, leading the league with a 12.1 K/9 rate. He appeared set to become the next star for the Diamondbacks.
Given his potential, and two years of control, it is understandable that he would be such a highly sought after target on the trade market. The Phillies need another top of the rotation starter to take that next step in the division, especially given the improvements of the Nationals and Mets. While the need is not nearly as great in Houston, Ray would be a very cost effective option to replace Dallas Keuchel, slotting into that vacated spot in the rotation perfectly.
The Arizona Diamondbacks do not have any plans to trade Robbie Ray, at least at this point. However, given the amount of interest in his services, the Diamondbacks may find themselves with an offer too good to refuse.