Why a reunion with this former Blue Jays star makes sense for both Toronto and the Giants

The San Francisco Giants have been struggling mightily to start their 2026 MLB campaign. Having posted just an 19-27 record (going into Sunday May 17), the Giants find themselves near the basement of the National League. Not only are they nine games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, they are also another 8.5 games out of a wild card playoff spot with a mountain of teams to overcome.

At the current rate, the Giants could quickly find themselves to be trade deadline sellers sooner than expected if things don’t turn around fast enough. If that comes to fruition, the Toronto Blue Jays should seriously consider a reunion with one of their former stars. With both Robbie Ray and Tyler Mahle on expiring contracts in San Francisco, they should become available if the Giants were to fall out of contention. As a result, the Blue Jays should make a call about their old friend Ray.

The Blue Jays should be calling for an old friend to help save their rotation

Entering the 2026 season, the Blue Jays had appeared to be safe with their starting pitching depth, as they had as many as nine potential candidates that could slot into their starting five without missing a beat. However, call it a severe case of bad luck, but Toronto would see injury after injury wreak havoc on their rotation, leaving them scrambling for answers.

Whether it be Shane Bieber being sidelined since the start of the season, Cody Ponce and his freak season-ending injury, Max Scherzer and his multi-injury barrage, and most recently José Berríos and his upcoming elbow surgery, the Blue Jays couldn't see all of that coming. Not to mentioned Eric Lauer as well, whose unexpected ineffectiveness that led to his designation for assignment.

As a result, bringing back Ray into the mix could be an instant remedy for the Jays rotation. After all, the former Blue Jays pitcher has been off to a solid start to his 2026 campaign, compiling a 3.04 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, along with 49 strikeouts in 50.1 innings of work over nine starts with the Giants. Most importantly, Ray has rediscovered himself over the last few years, coming off an All-Star season in 2025 while posting double digits in wins with 11, striking out over a batter per inning, while making 32 starts with a clean bill of health.

That very last point in particular is exactly what the Blue Jays need to give themselves a fair fighting chance to make the playoffs once again this year. In addition, injecting a former Cy Young winner into the Blue Jays starting five could instantly make their rotation one of the tops in the entire league as a result.

For the Giants, they had indicated that they won’t be moving on from their big stars in Rafael Devers, Matt Chapman and Willy Adames. Consequently, by dealing with the Blue Jays, San Francisco should be able to net a couple of top prospects from Toronto going the other way to help with their quick retool, making it a potential win-win scenario for both clubs.

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