Contrary to a recent report from MLB.com’s Jon Morosi, Giants GM Farhan Zaidi said Friday that the team has not made any “outgoing calls” on left-hander Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner was most recently linked to the Brewers, whom Morosi described as the Giants’ most likely trade partners this offseason, but it appears that any momentum toward a deal has all but died out.
Bumgarner, 29, rounded out a full decade in San Francisco following his 2018 campaign, and pitched to a 6-7 record with a 3.26 ERA, 3.0 BB/9, 7.6 SO/9, and 1.4 fWAR through 129 2/3 innings. Granted, he’s hardly the 5.0+ fWAR All-Star and championship leader he used to be in the mid-2010s, but his productivity has been partially zapped by a devastating shoulder sprain in 2017 and hand surgery in 2018. When healthy, he was one of the Giants’ top starters last season, during a year when their rotation finished 21st among all major league squads. He’ll earn $12 million in his final run with San Francisco and is currently positioned to enter free agency in 2020 -- provided the team can’t find a trade partner before then.
While the Giants may not be actively shopping their ace, they’re not necessarily closed off to offers. Zaidi pointed out that the club envisions Bumgarner as a “central cog” as they look to become competitive in the NL West this season, but also admitted that they’re not exactly in a position to refuse to listen to incoming offers, either. Such is the nature of the offseason.
