Diamondbacks Expected to Make Robbie Ray Available After Signing Madison Bumgarner

The Arizona Diamondbacks stunned the baseball world on Sunday afternoon by securing three-time World Series Champion Madison Bumgarner to a five-year, $85 million contract. Many thought the Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins were the favorites to secure the rights to Bumgarner, but the D-Backs swooped in and landed the 30-year-old.

Now with Bumgarner manning the rotation in the desert, someone is bound to be expendable. Bernie Pleskoff predicts the Diamondbacks will look to trade Robbie Ray this offseason.

#Dbacks Robbie Ray is now likely on the clock now IMO. He has a fine arm, but he still has command and control inconsistency. If that ever comes around, watch out. I think he will be in huge demand and Arizona can fill some holes if they deal him. Strikeout and walk machine.
— Bernie Pleskoff (@BerniePleskoff) December 16, 2019

The Arizona left-hander was on the trade block for the better part of the 2019 season, but no team bit at the Diamondbacks' ludicrous asking price for the inconsistent starter at the deadline.

However, as Pleskoff suggests, the market for Ray could very well increase, especially with the likes of Gerrit Cole, Madison Bumgarner, and Corey Kluber already off the board via free agency and trade.

Perhaps the addition of Madison Bumgarner will make #DBacks more willing to deal Robbie Ray, who is entering the final year of his contract. Angels, Twins among teams that make sense. Brewers had interest at trade deadline.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) December 15, 2019

In 2019, Ray had a 4.34 ERA, which isn't the greatest. Yet, he made up for it by striking out 235 batters in 174.1 innings pitched.

The real question is: which team will decide to take on the $10.8 million owed to him next season? With teams like the Dodgers, Twins, Atlanta Braves, and Angels in the market for starting pitching, the demand could outweigh the asking price.