Blue Jays free agent target: Robbie Ray
Photo credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images
Oct 22, 2026, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 21, 2026, 13:43 EDT
As seen during the 2026 campaign, you can never have enough starting pitching depth.
The Toronto Blue Jays’ rotation was ravaged by injuries from what felt like the opening day of spring training to the final day of the regular season.
With Dylan Cease, José Soriano, Cody Ponce, and Trey Yesavage all expected to play pivotal roles heading into 2027, the Blue Jays appear to be poised to add at least one arm through free agency to further strengthen this group.
A pending free agent who could be looking for a new home this winter is left-hander Robbie Ray. Ray split the 2026 season with both the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres, and was quietly effective for much of the year.
Across 31 games (30 starts), Ray went 13-8 with a 3.59 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Ray struck out 140 batters across 165.2 innings pitched and held opponents to a .235 average.
On August 3, Ray was traded from the Giants to the Padres, as San Diego looked to build its rotation up to secure a playoff berth and take a run at getting to the World Series. After recording a 3.08 ERA over 22 outings with the Giants, Ray’s numbers took a hit in his new home, highlighted by a 5.02 ERA across 43 innings.
Ray ended up getting into two postseason games with the Padres against the Milwaukee Brewers and over 3.2 innings pitched allowed three earned runs on five hits and three walks, while striking out one.
If the Blue Jays were to ink Ray to a contract, it would reunite the now 35-year-old with Pete Walker, who was his pitching coach after Toronto acquired him from the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 31, 2020, in exchange for Travis Bergen.
After appearing in five games with the Blue Jays to close out the 2020 campaign, Toronto signed Ray to a one-year, $8-million contract on November 10, 2020, and the move proved to pay off for both sides.
Ray went on to pitch in 32 games with the Blue Jays during the 2021 season, going 13-7 with a 2.84 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. Ray struck out a league-leading 248 batters, held opponents to a .210 average and earned himself the American League’s Cy Young Award.
Following that year, Ray signed a five-year, $115-million contract with the Seattle Mariners, the same deal he just wrapped up in San Diego. Since he was dealt midseason, Ray is ineligible to receive a qualifying offer, meaning there wouldn’t be a draft pick attached to his name.
Heading into next season, the Blue Jays’ rotation options are skewed heavily with right-handed arms. Cease, Soriano, Ponce, and Yesavage all throw from the right side, while the depth options that include Spencer Miles, Spencer Arrighetti, and Bowden Francis are all right-handers as well, setting up the likelihood the Blue Jays add a left-handed arm to their rotation this winter.
At 35, a two-year or three-year deal makes sense for Ray, and if the Blue Jays can keep it below $20-million annual average value, they could secure a strong rotation for years to come.
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