Robbie Ray is a free agent this winter, and the former Blue Jays Cy Young winner just gave Toronto a reason to call.

The lefty split 2026 between the Giants and Padres. San Francisco traded him to San Diego on Aug. 3 for right-hander Miguel Mendez and infielder Joniel Hernandez.

The numbers held up across both stops. He went 13-8 with a 3.59 ERA in 31 games, 30 of them starts.

He also pitched twice for the Padres in the playoffs, including Game 4 of the NLDS against the Brewers on Oct. 7. Milwaukee went on to sweep the Dodgers in the NLCS.

Toronto knows the ceiling. In 2021, his only full season with the Blue Jays, he went 13-7 with a 2.84 ERA and won the AL Cy Young Award.

Pitching coach Pete Walker gets plenty of credit for that season. He helped refine Ray's game after the lefty arrived as a trade deadline castoff.

A durable lefty fits a Blue Jays rotation full of question marks

That's the appeal now. José Berrios and Bowden Francis are coming back from Tommy John surgery, Cody Ponce is rehabbing his knee, and Shane Bieber and Max Scherzer are free agents.

The Jays also lack lefties. Behind Mason Fluharty, the only southpaws on the 40-man are Brendan Cellucci, Ricky Tiedemann and Brendon Little.

Isn't this just another nostalgia play? Not quite.

Unlike a Kevin Gausman reunion, Ray is coming off a season with real innings and solid results. A one-year deal for a durable lefty who already knows Walker is a smart bet.

The age is the caveat. He's 35, a 12th-round pick from 2010 who has spent 13 seasons bouncing between the Tigers, Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Mariners, Giants and Padres.

Bringing back Ray is like calling the contractor who built your best deck. He's older now, but he still knows where every board goes.

A lefty coming off a full, productive season won't lack interest. Toronto would need to move early.

Ross Atkins has a short list of rotation fixes this winter. If he wants one with a Rogers Centre track record, Ray might be the cheapest answer on the board.