Giants predicted to see $50 million return of former All-MLB star

The San Francisco Giants don’t have a lot of wiggle room.

After taking on Major League Baseball’s tenth-largest payroll in 2024 and posting a losing record, they’re currently projected for the eight-highest payroll in 2025.

New president of baseball operations Buster Posey will have to navigate a rebuilding process while on the hook for several significant contracts, including more than $25 million owed to Matt Chapman, more than $16 million owed to Jung-hoo Lee and more than $12 million owed to Jordan Hicks next season.

And now, the team can expect to pay former All-MLB first team pitcher Robbie Ray another $50 million over the next two years as Bleacher Report’s Tim Kelly predicted he will opt into his player option.

“Now-former president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi took on Ray’s deal likely knowing he would be on the books for the team through the 2026 season,” Kelly noted. “Zaidi’s successor, Buster Posey, will now inherit the final two seasons of the five-year, $115 million deal he initially signed with the Mariners.”

When the Mariners signed Ray to that deal, he was coming off of a 2021 season with a 2.84 ERA in 32 starts for the Toronto Blue Jays, which earned him the American League Cy Young Award.

But he’s failed to match that production since, making just eight starts in 2023 and 2024 combined. After making a delayed debut on the mound for the Giants this past season following Tommy John surgery in 2023, he hit the injured list with a hamstring injury shortly after.

But after taking on the tail-end of his contract, the Giants seem like they have little choice but to hope for a healthy return in 2025 and better production from the veteran over the next two seasons.

“As Ray moves further away from Tommy John Surgery, his results should get better than what they were in 2024,” Kelly added. “He’ll be hard-pressed to match the 2021 season he put together for the Toronto Blue Jays.”

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