BUMGARNER EXPECTED TO OPT OUT
SAN FRANCISCO — From the moment the trade deadline passed, the Giants knew their only hope of receiving a return for losing Madison Bumgarner could come through extending the starter a qualifying offer during the offseason.
Five days after the World Series ended, the Giants made it official as the club announced a decision to give Bumgarner a one-year, $17.8 million offer to remain with San Francisco.
In the coming days, Bumgarner is expected to formally reject the qualifying offer and explore all of his options in free agency. Another pitcher who received the same offer from the Giants on Monday, closer Will Smith, may find the deal is too good to pass up.
Aside from extending qualifying offers to Bumgarner and Smith, the Giants also made a handful of other transactions on Monday. The 60-day injured list disappeared and won’t return until spring training, so recently acquired pitcher Tyler Anderson, outfielder Steven Duggar, and relievers Trevor Gott, Reyes Moronta and Tony Watson were all added back to the 40-man roster.
Watson formally exercised his player option for 2020 on Saturday, which will keep him with the Giants for a third straight season.
Infielders Zach Green and Cristhian Adames were outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento, but both players agreed to minor league contracts for 2020. Neither will hold a 40-man roster spot this offseason, but the duo will likely receive non-roster invitations to spring training.
A player who declines a qualifying offer — as Bumgarner is expected to — will have draft pick compensation attached to their free agency. The Giants can gain a 2020 pick following Competitive Balance Round B if Bumgarner and or Smith rejects their offers and signs with a different team before next year’s amateur draft.
Bumgarner is eager to see what free agency has to offer while Smith has a much tougher decision on his hands.
Chicago Cubs right-hander Craig Kimbrel received a qualifying offer last offseason from the Boston Red Sox and had a difficult time commanding long-term interest from teams in free agency. The possibility of losing a draft pick to sign a reliever is an investment many teams are willing to make, which complicates Smith’s situation.
Kimbrel eventually signed a three-year deal worth more than $40 million with the Cubs, but he didn’t agree to terms until after the 2019 amateur draft in June. The decorated closer pitched in just 17 games and posted a 6.53 ERA, by far the worst mark of his 10year major league career.
Rockies closer Wade Davis is the only reliever in baseball making more than $17 million annually, so if Smith accepts his qualifying offer he can expect to rank among the highest-paid closers in baseball next season. However, at 30 years old, Smith may prefer the idea of signing a multi-year contract with a team that could provide him with more stability over the next few seasons.