Bumgarner, Kluber find new homes
Former Cy Young winners signed, traded
After 11 seasons with the Giants, Madison Bumgarner will begin a new chapter in his career – but stay in the NL West – agreeing to a five-year, $85 million with the Diamondbacks.
The 30-year-old southpaw has been one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball over the past decade, posting a 3.14 ERA in 285 starts since 2010 in the regular season but is best known for his postseason heroics.
Bumgarner dazzled as a 20-year-old rookie in 2010, going 2-0 with a 2.18 ERA in 202⁄3 innings in those playoffs, helping the Giants win their first World Series title since 1954. They would win again in 2012, and Bumgarner put the team on his back in 2014 to capture a third championship in five seasons.
That postseason, Bumgarner has a 1.03 ERA across 522⁄3 innings, picking up four wins and tossing five scoreless innings in Game 7 of the World Series on two days’ rest to get the save.
Now, Bumgarner joins a deep Diamondbacks rotation that includes Robbie Ray, Merrill Kelly, Luke Weaver, Mike Leake and Zac Gallen. Ray, a free agent after the 2020 season, has been the subject of trade rumors, and this might open the door for Arizona to move the
All-Star lefty.
Bumgarner was expected to fetch $100 million as a free agent, so the Diamondbacks securing the veteran for $17 million a year seems like a steal.
Bumgarner dealt with one-off injuries in 2017 (a dirt bike accident) and 2018 (broken hand on a line drive), but other than those two years, he has made at least 30 starts every season since 2011.
The Giants were expected to trade Bumgarner this summer, but the team caught fire in July, winning 15 of 18 and found themselves in the wild-card race. San Francisco opted to hold on to their longtime ace but went 22-32 in August and September, finishing with a losing record for the third year in a row.
Kluber traded to Rangers
The Rangers and Indians have agreed on a deal to send two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber to Texas, pending a physical, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because the trade is not yet finalized.
Kluber, 33, won the AL Cy Young in 2014 and 2017 and has been one of the most dominant starters in baseball in recent years. Since 2013, Kluber has a 3.04 ERA and is averaging 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings.
But he’s coming off a lost season, having made only seven starts in 2019. Kluber’s arm was broken when he was hit by a line drive May 1 and he didn’t pitch in the majors again after that, dealing with abdominal tightness during his rehab in August.
With a new ballpark opening in 2020 in Arlington, Texas has been looking to make a splash this offseason and struck out on free agent third baseman Anthony Rendon.
Kluber is owed $17.5 million in 2020 and by virtue of being traded his $18 million 2021 club option becomes a vesting option if he pitches 160 innings in 2020 and he is not on the injured list when the season ends.