After not trading Madison Bumgarner at the trade deadline, the Giants are likely going to lose one of their most valuable assets in franchise history for nothing. Several teams were gauging interest at the deadline, and the Braves were one of them, but San Francisco’s asking price was rumored to be astronomical. That wasn’t going to fly for a one-year rental, and that was likely the plan, as the Giants still had an outside chance at making the playoffs, but now they have to face the consequences. Bumgarner is going to be one of the hottest commodities on the market, and the Braves are reportedly targeting him.
According to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, “The Braves have made Bumgarner a priority and planned to quickly communicate that to the left-hander.”
Madison Bumgarner hasn’t been his typical All-Star self for a few years. A couple of freak injuries in 2017 and 2018 limited him to just over 100 innings in each season. He finally returned healthy this past year but was not as sensational as we’ve seen in the past, finishing with a 3.90 ERA. That’s not terrible, though, and it’s promising that he was able to toss over 200 innings in 34 starts. It’s also worth mentioning none of his previous injuries were serious arm problems, so there should not be any lingering issues.
Bumgarner remains the best postseason pitcher on the market and is still only 30 years old. He has a career ERA of 2.11 in the playoffs and a World Series record of 4-0 with a 0.25 ERA. There have also been rumors that he’s interested in moving closer to his hometown of Hickory, North Carolina. However, the Braves are going to have to open up their wallets because there will be several teams with deeper pockets looking to acquire Bumgarner.