Former Blue Jays Cy Young winner Robbie Ray traded to his fifth MLB team

For one season, starting pitcher Robbie Ray was a sensation with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Coming to the team in an August 2020 trade for Travis Bergen before re-signing on a one-year deal in 2021, Ray went above and beyond anyone’s expectations, winning the Cy Young in his lone full season in Toronto.

Though the Jays ultimately fell one game short of qualifying for the postseason that year, it was through no fault of Ray, who had a career year at age 29.

Two seasons later after leaving the Blue Jays, he’s found his third team in four years, being traded to the San Francisco Giants, as per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

BREAKING: The San Francisco Giants and Seattle Mariners are in agreement on a trade that will send former Cy Young winner Robbie Ray to the Giants for outfielder Mitch Haniger and right-hander Anthony DeSclafani, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 5, 2024

Ray became the fourth Blue Jays pitcher to win a Cy Young award, joining a class that included Roy Halladay (2003), Roger Clemens (1997 and 1998), and Pat Hentgen (1996).

Ray, who signed a $115 million deal with the Mariners in November 2021, is being traded for outfielder Mitch Haniger and right-hander Anthony DeSclafani, per Passan.

Suffering an arm injury that required Tommy John surgery in his first game of the season, Ray pitched just 3.1 innings in 2023 for the Mariners. He’s expected to be out for much of the 2024 season, with a possible return after the MLB All-Star break in July.

During his Cy Young-winning season in Toronto, Ray had a 13-7 record with an ERA of 2.84 and 248 strikeouts in 32 appearances, while he was 12-12 with an ERA of 3.71 and 212 strikeouts in 32 appearances with Seattle in 2022.

The Giants will be the fifth team of Ray’s MLB career, after also making stops in Detroit and Arizona prior to his time in Toronto. They’re coming off a season where they finished 79-83, finishing fourth in the National League East division, missing the playoffs for a second year in a row and the sixth time in seven seasons.

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