Robbie Ray Traded to Giants; Mariners Get Mitch Haniger, Anthony DeSclafani

The San Francisco Giants acquired former Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for outfielder Mitch Haniger, pitcher Anthony DeSclafani and cash.

ESPN's Jeff Passan first reported the deal.

In a separate trade, the Mariners sent infielder José Caballero to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for outfielder Luke Raley. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal first reported the trade, which was confirmed by Passan.

Ray underwent Tommy John surgery in May and is expected to miss the beginning of the 2024 season. He has three years and $73 million remaining on his contract, which contains a player opt-out option after 2024.

Haniger will return to Seattle after batting .263 over five seasons with the Mariners between 2017 and 2022.

Ray's five-year contract, which he signed with the Mariners following his 2021 Cy Young campaign with the Toronto Blue Jays, including a full no-trade clause through the first two years and offered an assignment bonus for a trade afterward, according to the New York Post's Joel Sherman.

Ray sustained an injury to his throwing arm in the single start he made for the Mariners in 2023. During the season prior, he went 12-12 in 32 starts with a 3.71 ERA and 1.19 WHIP.

The Giants will hope Ray can get back to his Cy Young form when he makes his return, which is expected after the All-Star break, according to Passan.

Meanwhile the Mariners will take a chance on DeSclafani, who after a solid 2021 campaign went through two inconsistent and injury-plagued seasons with the Giants.

He showed promise early in 2023, holding a 2.70 ERA and 27-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio through his first 30 innings and five starts before struggling later on in the season.

Similarly, the Mariners will hope for a bounce-back season from Haniger, who also struggled with injury in his first year away from the Mariners as he slashed a career-low .209/.266/.365 through 61 games with the Giants.

Both could be in Seattle for just one season. DeSclafani has $12 million and one year remaining on his deal, while Haniger has two years and $32.5 million remaining but an opt-out option after 2024.

Raley is coming out of a career-best campaign for the Rays after batting .249 while hitting 19 home runs in 406 plate appearances.

In exchange, Caballero will head to the Rays after batting .221 and stealing a career-high 26 bases in his rookie campaign for the Mariners. He could slot in at shortstop in Tampa Bay, according to Passan.

Friday's trades continue what has so far been an offseason full of change for the Mariners, who have dealt players such as Jarred Kelenic, Eugenio Suarez and Marco Gonzales while adding designated hitter Mitch Garver.

The Seattle front office will hope those changes are enough to get the Mariners back into the playoffs for the second time in 22 seasons.