San Francisco Giants pitcher Robbie Ray delivers the strike out pitch to Chicago White Sox’ Korey Lee in the seventh inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. (Karl Mondon/ Bay Area News Group)
Left-hander Robbie Ray did not opt out of his contract with the Giants and will remain in San Francisco, according ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Ray has two years and $50 million remaining on the five-year, $115 million deal he signed before the start of the 2022 season.
Additionally, infielder Wilmer Flores has exercised his player option for the 2025 season, the Giants announced on Saturday morning.
The news comes a day after left-hander Blake Snell opted out of his contract and became a free agent.
Ray, acquired via trade with the Mariners last season, didn’t make his debut for the Giants until late July as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. In seven starts with San Francisco, Ray had a 4.70 ERA with 43 strikeouts over 30 2/3 innings. The 33-year-old left-hander and former Cy Young Award winner stands to anchor next year’s rotation alongside Logan Webb.
Flores signed a three-year, $16.5 million extension with San Francisco in September 2022 with a mutual option for 2025. If Flores exercised his opt out, the Giants would’ve then had a club option for $8.5 million, which they would’ve likely declined.
Flores, 33, is coming off the worst season of his major-league career, posting career lows in batting average (.206), on-base percentage (.277) and slugging percentage (.318) with four homers and 26 RBIs. Defensively, Flores was worth -2 defensive runs saved at first base. In August, Flores underwent a Tenex procedure on his right knee that ended his season early.
Last season, the Giants used eight different players at first base: Flores, LaMonte Wade Jr., Mark Canha, David Villar, Trenton Brooks, Jerar Encarnacion, Tyler Fitzgerald and Brett Wisely. That group (when playing first base) combined for a .699 OPS, which ranked 21st in all of baseball.
During general manager Perry Minasian’s introductory Zoom, president of baseball operations Buster Posey said that the Giants will look at “every possibility available to make our team as good as we can.”
“When you think about roster construction, to me, it’s similar to the way I looked at being a baseball player,” Posey said. “As a baseball player, you want to be as complete as you possibly can on both sides of the ball. I think that’s ultimately how we want to create a roster, with strong pitching and strong defense and the ability to score some runs in different ways.”
There are several first basemen available on the free-agent market, a list headlined by slugger Pete Alonso. The Giants’ options on the open market, however, will not include Cody Bellinger, who picked up his $27.5 million player option for the 2025 season and remain a Chicago Cub.
Wade, who turns 31 in January, is entering his final year of arbitration and projected to make $4.7 million, per MLB Trade Rumors’ projections. He missed time due to a hamstring injury and finished the season with a .260 batting average, eight home runs and a .761 OPS.
Bryce Eldridge, the 16th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, could potentially factor into San Francisco’s first base equation next season. Eldridge began his first full professional season with Low-A San Jose and played his way all the way to Triple-A Sacramento, finishing the year with with a .291 batting average 23 homers and 92 RBIs. The 20-year-old will likely receive an invitation to spring training, but given that he’s only played eight games with the River Cats, he will likely start next season in the minors.
Originally published at Justice delos Santos