Change needed, but not by trade of Bumgarner
The Giants took a bold step into the future Tuesday, hiring Farhan Zaidi as their president of baseball operations. Considering that he comes from the Dodgers’ organization, he’s not likely to feel much sentiment toward mainstays of San Francisco’s glory years.
Let’s hope he makes an exception for Madison Bumgarner. If I’m a Giants fan, I don’t want him going anywhere.
In picking up Bumgarner’s club option for the coming season, the Giants set themselves up for a Bumgarner trade. There are no long-term obligations or burdensome financial terms. His new team, if there is one, can determine Bumgarner’s immediate future in the game.
There’s no debating the notion that the Giants need major changes. In the wake of two desultory seasons, and the fact that they remain significantly behind the Dodgers in youth, roster depth and performance, it’s time for a new look in 2019. Just remember that the Giants wouldn’t have won any of those three World Series without elite, dominant pitching at spacious AT&T Park. Only one man on their roster fits that description, and that’s Bumgarner.
Johnny Cueto won’t be back for another year. Jeff Samardzija drifts in and out of relevance. Dereck Rodriguez and Andrew Suarez have exceptional promise but they’re young, and still vulnerable to adjustments by the opposition. The Giants aren’t about to start bullpenning, or pretending they can hit their way back into contention. They need an anchor, a horse (Bumgarner likes that analogy), someone manager Bruce Bochy can count upon to stop a losing streak or have impact with his presence alone.
Just say, for the sake of argument, the Giants do trade Bumgarner before the season starts. The Yankees would be very interested, and they have a loaded farm system, as do several other clubs. Don’t forget that prospects are just that, offering the prospect of greatness but no guarantees. Among the “can’t-miss” types who didn’t pan out, such names as David Clyde, Todd Van Poppel, Kris Benson and Brien Taylor come to mind. The Giants have their own grim assortment, featuring the likes of Adam Hyzdu, Calvin Murray, Gary Brown and (possibly) Christian Arroyo.
Even if the Giants stocked their system with three intriguing names, how depressing would it be to watch Bumgarner in vintage form at midseason, steaming toward the All-Star Game with some other team, while those prospects put up average numbers in the minors?
Moreover, who would replace Bumgarner as the Giants’ ace? Don’t shrug off the discussion; it’s as important to Bochy’s team as rainstorms in a drought. It could come from within — Rodriguez being the most logical candidate — but would the Giants run that risk?
If some familiar, beloved faces get traded (think Brandon Belt and/or Joe Panik), there would be no elite pitchers arriving in return. The Giants’ farm system is full of players who haven’t quite reached expectations, and the one true gem, Steven Duggar, appears properly ticketed for center field next year.
That leaves the free-agent market, where the Giants’ primary target appears to be Bryce Harper, or any proven hitter(s) to bolster a punchless lineup. But say it swings the other way, toward rotation pitchers: Is there really a better option than Bumgarner?
The most attractive option is Patrick Corbin, who put up sensational numbers in Arizona. He has a very short history of dominance, making one wonder whether his 2018 season is sustainable, but he probably won’t be available. (Corbin and the Yankees have mutual interest.) Boston is likely to retain Nathan Eovaldi, hero of the 18-inning World Series Game 3, and with two Tommy John surgeries in his wake, Eovaldi carries heavy baggage.
There’s also the age factor. Bumgarner will be 29 on Opening Day, as will Corbin and Eovaldi. Among other freeagent options, Dallas Keuchel will be 31, Hyun-Jin Ryu 32, Tyson Ross 32, Lance Lynn 32, Wade Miley 32, Gio Gonzalez 33, Anibal Sanchez 35, Charlie Morton 35, J.A. Happ 36. Does that sound like the proper route for a team that desperately needs to get younger? And how many of those pitchers want to spend their latter seasons with a team on the fringe (if that) of contention?
A better idea, it says here, would be to start the season with Bumgarner and he actually stays healthy. (He didn’t pitch until June 5 in 2017, because of his dirt-biking accident, and his broken hand cost him three months last season.) If there’s a bit of rebirth in the standings, then wonderful. He’ll fit in perfectly. If things go sour but Bumgarner holds up his end, there will be interesting trade options in July.
One thing will not be in question: Bumgarner’s sense of pride. He will be fiercely motivated to get back in the All-Star conversation and join his longtime adversary, Clayton Kershaw, in that quest. Last week, upon signing a three-year extension with the Dodgers, Kershaw told reporters, “There have been a lot of people saying that I’m in decline, or I’m not going to be as good as I once was. I’m looking forward to proving a lot of people wrong with that.”
I’d imagine Bumgarner, hard at work on his North Carolina farm, is thinking the same thing. Let’s not let him escape San Francisco too soon.