Ray changes up arsenal thanks to tip from MLB's top hurler

MESA, Ariz. -- At the end of last season, Robbie Ray decided to shoot his shot.

After watching Tigers ace Tarik Skubal dominate in the playoffs, Ray texted the reigning American League Cy Young and Triple Crown winner and asked if he’d be willing to share his changeup grip with him.

Much to Ray’s delight, Skubal said yes.

“He kind of just sent me the kitchen sink,” Ray said. “He sent me pictures, video, everything. He was very open about it, and I was very thankful.”

The two left-handers stayed in touch throughout the winter, with Ray sending frequent updates on how the pitch was coming along.

“I worked really hard all offseason on just kind of perfecting it,” Ray said. “We have similar arm slots. He’s maybe a little bit higher than I am but very similar. I’ve always struggled with throwing a changeup, and I don’t pronate very well. That’s usually how you throw a changeup. The way that he taught me, you don't have to. It seems to be working pretty well.”

Ray finally got a chance to break out his new changeup while making his spring debut in the Giants’ 7-5 loss to the A’s at Hohokam Stadium on Tuesday afternoon. The 33-year-old veteran still relied primarily on his fastball-slider combination en route to striking out three over two scoreless innings, but he mixed in a handful of changeups and said he was pleased with the results.

“For me, everything’s kind of like hard in to righties, and I wanted something that had a little more action, soft away to righties,” Ray said.

Ray put his new pitch to the test against All-Star designated hitter Brent Rooker, who swung at a first-pitch changeup in the bottom of the first and then took another one down the middle for strike two. Rooker subsequently laid off two fastballs out of the zone to even the count before Ray struck him out looking on a slider.

“If it’s something I can do that with and get that kind of result where I get two strikes with a pitch that is not one of my putaway pitches, then that’s a win,” Ray said. “Because now I have a fastball and a slider that you haven’t seen yet.”

“He’s trying to turn himself into a three-pitch pitcher,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Just be a little bit less predictable. His breaking ball was good today. The changeup has looked good in the ‘pen. A little more usage is just going to help him out as a starter, obviously.”

Experimenting with new pitches is something Ray didn’t get a chance to do last year, as he spent his first spring with the Giants rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. He was limited to throwing 10 to 15 fastballs off the mound at this point last season, making him relish the return to normalcy in 2025.

“My body is feeling good,” Ray said. “Arm is feeling great. It was a really good offseason, so I’m feeling excited for a normal, healthy Spring Training.”

Ray produced mixed results after coming back from Tommy John surgery last July, logging a 4.70 ERA over seven starts before landing back on the injured list with a left hamstring strain.

But after losing Blake Snell to the rival Dodgers, the Giants will be counting on Ray to recapture the durability and dominance he showed during his Cy Young campaign with the Blue Jays in 2021.

Ray said it took some time to find his arm slot last year after returning from his 18-month layoff, but he feels more in sync now and is eager to show what he can do in his second season in San Francisco.

“Coming off Tommy John, you just never know what to expect,” Ray said. “But now that I’ve been able to go through a normal offseason or my normal progression that I normally would, I feel like everything is starting to click and getting to the right position that I need to be in. I think everything just seemed so foreign because it had been a while since I’d been on the mound. I was really just trying to go out and find out how everything moves again. Now that I’ve had time to kind of look back and reflect on it and build on top of it, I feel like I’m in a really good spot right now.”