Mariners free-agent bust has found new life with NL West contender

Seattle Mariners fans will remember the excitement which accompanied the team signing Robbie Ray to a five-year, $115 million deal not long after he had won the AL Cy Young Award in Toronto.

Well, now the San Francisco Giants are experiencing something similar with the southpaw, albeit for different reasons.

Ray is off to an excellent start in Cactus League play, also unveiling a new pitch in the form of a changeup. He has made two appearances and thrown 5.0 innings, in the process allowing just two hits, along with no walks or runs.

However, arguably most impressive has been the 33-year-old's ability to generate strikeouts. He has fanned nine of the 17 hitters he has faced. Evidently, the combination of his new changeup and a fastball which has touched 96 mph — along with his slider — is doing real damage.

Robbie Ray using a modified changeup in San Francisco

Interestingly, Ray did previously utilize another version of the changeup during his early days in the Majors before getting rid of it in 2016. The genesis for bringing back a modified version of the changeup came as a result of being impressed while watching video of the Detroit Tigers' Tarik Skubal, who himself won a AL Cy Young Award last season.

Ray is still getting used to his new/modified pitch and working out when and how often to rely on it. As per Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic (subscription required), the 2017 All-Star said: "I’m trying to figure out when’s the best time to throw it. I’ve been talking to [Logan Webb], been leaning on my catchers. Sam [Huff]’s done a great job catching me. I think we have a pretty good relationship, and he understands when I need to throw it and when to double up on it."

As a result of the early returns in Scottsdale, Arizona, Ray is being mentioned as a potential NL Comeback Player of the Year candidate. However, Mariners fans themselves know only too well about getting too carried away with Ray, a 12th-round draft pick from 2010.

In defense of the Mariners and their fans, Ray was coming off a Cy Young Award in 2021, when he set a whole host of career-bests. He led the AL with a 6.9 WAR, 2.84 ERA, 157 ERA+ and 1.045 WHIP, while also topping the Majors as a whole with 248 strikeouts.

Mariners never got to see the best of Robbie Ray

Ray wasn't a disaster during his first season in Seattle, but much more was expected from an expensive acquisition who was meant to be the staff ace. He finished the 2022 campaign with a 2.1 WAR, 3.71 ERA, 4.16 FIP, and 1.190 WHIP, and struggled particularly against the Astros, which was painfully highlighted during the playoff series between the two AL West rivals.

The hope was that Ray would improve in his second year with the Mariners, which was reinforced by a tremendous spring training in Peoria. He pitched 17.0 combined innings over five starts, allowing just 11 hits, six walks and two earned runs, while also striking out 26 hitters.

Unfortunately, though, the Brentwood, Tennessee native had a nightmare in his one regular season appearance in 2023. It turned out that he had torn a flexor tendon, which required him to undergo season-ending Tommy John Surgery.

The end of Robbie Ray and the Mariners

This would prove to be the end of Ray's association with the Mariners, who traded him to the Giants at the beginning of 2024 while he was still rehabbing from his surgery, in what was effectively a salary dump. However, it is the injury which is part of the reason why hopes are again high for the pitcher.

The understandable sentiment among the Giants is that they didn't get to see the best of Ray in his seven starts in San Francisco last year, with him needing to find his feet (or arm) again after 16 months between pitching in the Majors. Now, though, he feels more like his old self and ready to contribute more effectively for the team.

Ray knows better than to take anything for granted after all his ups and downs, but he still sounds like a man who has rediscovered his confidence. As per Justice Delos Santos of The Mercury News, he said: "I have a better understanding of where the ball is going now. Whereas last year, I was still trying to find my arm slot, still trying to figure out how my body was moving. My arm felt great last year. It was just a matter of trying to get things to kind of click."

It is truly a shame that things never worked out for Ray in Seattle, but we're sure plenty of Mariners fans will still wish him all the best for this coming season. Of course, with the exception of when the M's face the Giants in San Francisco for three games during early April.

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