A few years ago, the Arizona Diamondbacks were proud to have Madison Bumgarner. He was a pitcher who knew the division and was a three-time world champion.
His exploits in the playoffs allowed him to sign an $85 million contract.
Unfortunately for him and for the Diamondbacks, who were in the race for his services in particular because he has horses in Arizona, MadBum never delivered the goods.
And this morning, the club released him.
He has been designated for assignment and will therefore go on waivers. But since he still has to earn $34 to $38 million by the end of the 2024 season, no one is going to claim him.
He will therefore become a free agent.
Whether he signs elsewhere or not, he will be paid every penny of his contract. The Diamondbacks are going to pay him to be at home…or to pitch somewhere else.
A club that gave him a contract to finish the season would pay him minimum wage and the rest of the amount would be borne by the DBacks.
But will any club trust him?
After all, as we started talking about the possibility this morning, MadBum’s stats came up and clearly, things are bad in Arizona when he’s pitching.
In just over three seasons, Bumgarner has posted an ERA of 5.23 (it’s 10.26 this season) and he’s never led his team in the playoffs.
Even worse? As of 2020, of the 83 starting pitchers who have pitched enough innings to qualify for the stat, he has the worst WAR in the group: 1.0.
He therefore offered the equivalent of an $85 million gain to the DBacks.
The latter have therefore chosen, instead of transferring it to the enclosure or something like that, to cut it completely. It was done the day after a tough outing against the Cardinals.
His departure will therefore make room for young people. Tommy Henry should take his place in the club’s starting rotation.
Brandon Pfaadt, Drey Jamseon and Blake Walston are all starters who are among the club’s top six prospects and are either in the AAA or the Majors. That’s one more place for them?
So I don’t know if any team will want to sign the veteran, but it sounds like the Texas Rangers might be a possibility for him.
For what? Because Bruce Bochy knows Bumgarner very, very well. Together, they won no less than three World Series titles in San Francisco.
The club could sign him on minimum wage to take a chance.
And note that if all goes well, he also has a paycheck coming in in 2024, which will make him eligible to sign again at minimum wage – if he still plays.
If not, is a return to San Francisco possible? Will co-owner Buster Posey sign him? Maybe.
Will another team be racing? That also remains to be seen.
- Giancarlo Stanton is tired of being injured.
- Without Shohei Ohtani, no salvation in Anaheim.
- Things are going well in Pittsburgh.
- Max Scherzer must become dominant again.
- The Vegas sports market is growing.
