Arizona Diamondbacks: Should Robbie Ray be on the trade block?
The Arizona Diamondbacks got a lot more depth in the starting rotation after adding Madison Bumgarner, but it also gives the opportunity for them to trade Robbie Ray.
Madison Bumgarner makes the Arizona Diamondbacks rotation much better, but as he is sitting comfortably as the Opening Day starter, his teammate Robbie Ray could be moved.
Ray, 28, is a free agent after the 2020 season and the Diamondbacks might not want to overpay him to come back. He was an All-Star in 2017 and will be hitting the market before age 30, which is like the age that decision-makers stop believing in pitchers that aren’t All-Stars.
A big aspect that the Diamondbacks will likely consider is the fact that there are so many teams that are looking for starting pitching. And they just happen to be teams that are contenders or would be thought of as contenders if they added Ray.
After the Reds added Wade Miley to their rotation– that already included Sonny Gray, Luis Castillo, and Trevor Bauer— teams like the Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, and Los Angeles Angels could benefit from Robbie Ray’s services.
Kluber, 33, was traded to the Texas Rangers over the weekend and the Indians were able to get back a possible starting center fielder and a talented reliever in Emmanuel Clase who throws 100 mph. What that means for the D-backs is that if Kluber, who was hurt the majority of the 2019 season, got a decent return to Cleveland then Arizona should be more than able to get a few impact players from the teams I mentioned.
Next. Can the DBacks contend in 2020?. dark
The question for Arizona Diamondbacks fans is not if they will trade Robbie Ray, but when. Adding Bumgarner to the rotation is a great replacement for Ray (assuming he gets traded), so I believe the Diamondbacks will benefit more from trading Ray in return for impact talent than they would benefit if they kept him for his final season before free agency.