San Francisco Giants Former Cy Young Pitcher Has an Easy Decision in Free Agency

The San Francisco Giants have some looming decisions to be made by players on the roster who will have the option to either opt in and stay with the team at a set number or choose to decline their options and become free agents.

Naturally, the one that has the most discussed player option is ace pitcher Blake Snell, and for good reason.

Snell faces a $30 million opt-in and has continuously proven himself to be one of the best in the entire game.

The two-time Cy Young winner appears more likely than not to opt out and hit the open market again, but it will be a tough decision to simply turn down $30 million and head to free agency for the second offseason in a row.

Some players in San Francisco face less of a difficult decision than Snell does however, and one of them is a fellow lefty starter and fellow former Cy Young.

Jeff Young of Around the Foghorn says that veteran Robby Ray, who the team acquired last offseason via trade from Seattle, does not face much of a decision due to his production and money owed on the deal the Mariners gave him two years ago.

"Ray has a relatively easy decision," Young wrote. "He will likely opt in to the remainder of his deal. He is owed $50 million over the next two seasons, but his Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) is slightly lower at $23 million per season through 2025."

At the exorbitant number Ray is set to opt in for, San Francisco might even prefer that Ray chooses to opt out, but there is virtually no chance he decides to do that.

In 2022, Seattle awarded him with a five-year, $115 million on the heels of a career 2021 season and he awarded them with another big year in 2022 but pitched in just one game in 2023 before undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Ray made his Giants debut, after the team traded for him last offseason, in late July and over seven starts down the stretch was relatively pedestrian. Once he likely opts in and San Francisco is paying him for the next two years regardless, perhaps Ray can take a step in 2025 and turn back the clock as he should now be fully recovered from the injury.

As recently as 2021, Ray was the American League Cy Young with Toronto when he put up a 2.84 ERA along with 248 strikeouts over 193.1 innings pitched in 32 starts for the Blue Jays.

Having just turned 33, there's reason for optimism that he can still turn it around and become the pitcher the Giants hoped they were getting when they traded for him.