Giants get: RHP Miguel Mendez, SS Joniel Hernandez 

Padres get: LHP Robbie Ray

Robbie Ray may never have a Cy Young-caliber season again, but he can help the Padres 

Giants: A
Padres: B+

Robbie Ray’s 2021 AL Cy Young Award remains one of the award’s most notable outliers in recent history, and it’s possible the expectations around him after winning have obscured just how helpful Ray has been when healthy. He’s not in danger of throwing 200 innings, but he was a reliable fount of quality starts in recent weeks, throwing (and grunting) as well as ever. The Padres got a first-hand look at it last week, and it impressed them enough to make a relatively rare intra-division trade.

Ray isn’t an ace, and the statistical record suggests that he never was (or was even especially close, save for that one magical season). But he’s been a rock-solid pitcher for a long time, and he comes with an upside that most of the innings-absorbers who will move at the deadline can’t touch. Ray is a pitcher who, at his spot-hitting best, can give even a lineup like the Dodgers’ some trouble. And if you’re worried about the gap between his sparkling ERA (3.08) and ordinary FIP (4.36), check out his history with both stats. The sample is big enough that the ERA might be more predictive. If so, he’s just what the Padres need in a crowded wild-card race.

As for the Giants, they somehow trans-mutated the immovable contracts of Mitch Haniger and Anthony DeSclafani into two strong seasons from Ray and a pair of prospects, which is an impressive feat already. The quality of those prospects being as high as it is makes the grade one of the easiest so far. Joniel Hernandez is a teenage shortstop bonus baby for the Giants to add to their growing collection, and Miguel Mendez is a high-octane arm in the upper minors (though he’s on a rehab assignment in High-A now), which is exactly where the Giants need depth. — Grant Brisbee

Giants score with the prospects they acquire from the Padres

Giants: A+
Padres: B

Oh, you thought A.J. Preller was going to shop Mason Miller and Adrián Morejón? No, no. That’s so 10 days ago. The Padres have won eight of their last nine games, and they just acquired the only guy who beat ‘em: Robert Glenn Ray.

Ray is far from the pitcher who won a Cy Young in 2021, when he led the league in strikeouts, ERA, WHIP and innings pitched. His production hasn’t matched the value of the five-year, $115 million deal the Seattle Mariners granted him that fall. Yet, in San Francisco, Ray’s results have been more good than bad the past two seasons. Ray is pitching well despite peripherals far reduced from his peak. Sure, he’s been far better at home (2.22 ERA) than on the road (4.06 ERA), but he’ll still benefit from a pitcher-friendly home atmosphere in San Diego.

To land Ray and get the Giants to eat half of the money, Preller is again spending freely from the Padres’ (notably diminished) prospect reserves. A breakout prospect last year, Mendez, 24, entered this year ranked by The Athletic’s Keith Law as San Diego’s No. 4 prospect. He has a big arm and a plus slider. The results this season have been uneven, but Mendez could help the Giants at the major-league level next year. Hernandez is a 17-year-old Cuban shortstop who the Padres signed for $1.4 million this winter. He has a .927 OPS in the Dominican Summer League. Baseball America ranked Hernandez as the Padres’ No. 21 prospect; MLB.com is higher on him, ranking him ninth in the system.— Stephen J. Nesbitt