Sources: Padres acquire Robbie Ray in trade with Giants

The San Diego Padres have acquired left-hander Robbie Ray from the San Francisco Giants, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan and Alden Gonzalez on Monday.

Ray, who is making $25 million in 2026 and will be a free agent after this season, has been one of the best pitchers in MLB since June and is 10-6 with a 3.08 ERA and 107 strikeouts this season.

In exchange, the Giants will get Joniel Hernandez and Miguel Mendez, a source told ESPN.

The Padres, while 11 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgersin the National League West, have gone 8-2 in their past 10 games and have surged back into contention in the wild-card race, just one game out of the final spot.

San Diego approached this trade deadline with a desperate need for starting pitching as its rotation has posted a 4.66 ERA -- fourth-highest in the major leagues. Outside of Michael King, the Padres don't have any starting pitchers they can count on going deep into games, prompting the team to implement a high-wire bullpen act on most nights.

The Padres are hopeful of getting Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta back eventually from the injured list, but they still have several steps to clear before rejoining the rotation.

San Diego has had 14 total starts by a left-hander this season, which is fourth fewest in the majors. None of those qualified as a quality start. Ray, meanwhile, has nine quality starts -- and five in his last seven outings.

In his five June starts, Ray went 4-0 with a 1.36 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in 33 innings. He also had 23 strikeouts, allowed just 17 hits and held opposing batters to a .149 average.

He stayed hot throughout July, going 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA and 1.51 WHIP over five starts, with 25 strikeouts in 27 innings.

The left-hander, 34, who won the 2021 American League Cy Young Award with the Toronto Blue Jays, has faced some weak lineups over that stretch but has allowed just one home run in 49 innings. There also is a big home/away split, with Ray posting a 2.22 ERA and a .193 batting average against at Oracle Park but a 4.06 ERA and .263 batting average against on the road.

Ray still walks too many batters -- his wak rate is 11.1%, which is third-highest among qualified starters -- and his strikeout rate is dropping. He's also generally much more vulnerable to right-handed batters (14 of his 15 home runs have come against righties), but he has consistently provided dependable innings since returning from Tommy John surgery in 2024.

In 13 major league seasons since 2014, Ray has a 98-87 record with a 3.87 ERA and 1,841 strikeouts in 1,563 innings with the Tigers, Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Mariners and Giants.

Hernandez is a 17-year-old shortstop who was recently signed out of Cuba. Mendez is a 24-year-old right-hander with a 4.93 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 34 innings in Double-A.

ESPN's Kiley McDaniel and David Schoenfield contributed to this report.br/]