The Toronto Blue Jays acquired left-handed starter Robbie Ray and cash considerations from the Arizona Diamondbacks for southpaw Travis Bergen, the club announced Monday.
Arizona is sending $300,000 in cash to the Blue Jays, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. That will presumably cover a portion of the approximately $1.5 million in prorated salary Ray's owed for the rest of this season.
Ray, 28, is a pending free agent. He represents Toronto's second rental pitching acquisition this summer following the addition of Taijuan Walker from the Mariners last week.
Ray's struggled this year, posting a career-worst 7.84 ERA and 2.00 WHIP while walking an MLB-leading 31 batters. However, he's striking out a career-high 12.5 batters per nine innings.
Ray's best season came in 2017, when he was an All-Star with Arizona and finished seventh in NL Cy Young voting after going 15-5 with a 2.89 ERA and an NL-best 12.1 K/9 rate. Over his seven-year career, he's averaged 11.1 strikeouts per nine while posting a 4.25 ERA.
Bergen pitched in one game for Toronto this year. The 26-year-old spent most of 2019 with the San Francisco Giants as a Rule 5 pick, where he posted a 5.49 ERA in 21 appearances; San Francisco returned him to the Blue Jays last August.
Bergen has three minor-league options remaining and won't become arbitration-eligible until 2023.
