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Madison Bumgarner

Farhan Zaidi On Giants’ Offseason, Bumgarner

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In a Friday appearance on the Murph & Mac podcast (audio link and partial transcript here), Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi discussed the relatively slow pace of the offseason, his personal takes on some Giants players, and several other subjects over the course of the interview.  From a hot-stove perspective, Zaidi noted that “we’re hopeful to have an announcement on a signing or a trade here in the next couple of days,” so some type of transaction could be imminent now that we’re more than two days removed from the interview.

Some more highlights…

  • In general, the Giants’ offseason maneuverings have been made more difficult by their lack of prospect depth and financial flexibility.  “The reality is our organizational stock in both those areas is not particularly high right now.  It just casts a different light on the opportunities that we have out there,” Zaidi said, while adding “I still think we’re going to have those opportunities” as the offseason develops.  Headline-grabbing moves aren’t always the ones that help the team the most, as Zaidi noted that the Giants’ best move of the 2017-18 offseason may have been inking Dereck Rodriguez to a minor league contract.
  • Zaidi reiterated that the Giants aren’t going into a full rebuild, saying “We’re going to do what we can within the constraints we have to put a competitive ballclub out there” in 2019.  Winning the division “is always going to be a goal,” even as Zaidi admits the Dodgers are still the team to beat at this point.
  • A recent report from MLB.com’s Jon Morosi linking the Brewers and Giants in trade talks about Madison Bumgarner was “overblown,” in Zaidi’s words, as Bumgarner is “a huge part” of San Francisco’s plans to compete next season.  “We spent this offseason having to be realistic with where we are and being willing to listen on anything,” Zaidi said. “But it doesn’t change the fact that Madison Bumgarner is a very central cog to this team.  Nobody is making any outgoing calls on Madison Bumgarner.”

Brewers, Giants Have Reportedly Discussed Madison Bumgarner Trade

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TODAY: Morosi now tweets that the Giants have left the Brewers with the impression that “a young starting pitcher — Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, or Freddy Peralta — would need to be part of [an] offer” to make a deal on Bumgarner. Of course, that may only be one portion of a palatable package.

Whether the Milwaukee organization has any inclination to pay such a price is not evident. It’s also far from clear just how active the discussions really are at this time. Per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, on Twitter, “nothing substantive is being discussed at the moment” regarding Bumgarner.

YESTERDAY: The Giants and Brewers have had “substantive communication” this offseason regarding a potential Madison Bumgarner trade, Jon Morosi of MLB.com wrote this morning. While there’s no indication that the sides are particularly likely to reach agreement, it seems there’s serious interest on the part of the Milwaukee organization.

From the surface, at least, it’s tempting to view this as a possible blockbuster. Morosi suggests a deal involving the star lefty — a still-youthful player with unmatched postseason credentials — could be the only immediate means available for the Giants to “obtain high-end young players.” And the Brewers rotation is more notable for its depth than for big names at the top of the staff — a state of affairs that has often led to outside calls for a major strike.

Upon closer examination, though, it’s hard to see immense value in the contract rights to the undeniably accomplished hurler. After all, he has not only been limited by injury over the past two seasons, but has exhibited numerous declines in peripheral numbers. To be sure, he has still managed to secure excellent results, and he’s hard to count out at just 29 years of age, but there’s real concern about Bumgarner’s outlook.

With just one season of control remaining, at a not-insignificant $12MM rate, it’s tough to imagine any team giving up its favorite prospects for the chance to see what’s left in the tank. Neither does it make much sense for new Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi to part with MadBum for little more than cost savings. All said, it’s not entirely surprising that there has been so little chatter this winter on Bumgarner despite the Giants’ reported willingness to move him. Indeed, last we heard (nearly one month back), it was said to be increasingly unlikely he’d be dealt before the start of the season.

Beyond that, Brewers GM David Stearns proved last year that he won’t be swayed by outside opinions on the state of his club’s pitching staff. While the consensus was that the Milwaukee org needed to bolster the top of its rotation — both last winter and in the mid-season trade period that followed — the club largely elected to go with internal options bolstered by seemingly unexciting outside acquisitions. While the resulting staff was hardly dominant, it was a solid unit (particularly when paired with an excellent bullpen) that allowed the Brewers to exceed expectations.

All that being said, it’s plenty notable that the Brewers seem to have serious, ongoing interest in Bumgarner. While the sides obviously have not lined up to this point, Morosi goes so far as to say that the Milwaukee club is “most likely” to land Bumgarner if he does end up being moved. The Brew Crew brass is said still to be conducting “internal deliberations” on the matter, suggesting that the two teams are still looking for ways to bridge the gap in negotiations — and, perhaps, that both sides have some reason to think they may be able to do so.

West News & Rumors: Haniger, Santana, Bumgarner, Rangers, Morton, Rockies, Myers

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Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger is not untouchable, but if they’re going to trade him, it’s going to take a substantial offer. General manager Jerry Dipoto is holding out for a three- to four-player package headlined by a pair of “high-level prospects,” including a pitcher, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports. While Haniger may continue in Seattle, there’s a growing likelihood they’ll trade first baseman Carlos Santana for prospects, according to Divish. The expensive Santana, who’s only a little over a week into his Mariners career, has drawn interest from several teams since the M’s acquired him from the Phillies.

Here’s more from the game’s West divisions:

  • The likelihood of the Giants trading ace Madison Bumgarner this offseasn is dropping, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. It’s more probable the Giants will move Bumgarner at next summer’s trade deadline – if they’re out of contention, that is – Feinsand hears. Bumgarner, 29, is entering his last year of team control (and perhaps the final season of his storied Giants tenure), in which he’ll earn a reasonable $12MM.
  • Even though the Rangers are in a rebuild, the club has “strong interest” in 35-year-old right-hander Charlie Morton, Jeff Wilson of the Star Telegram reports. Morton spent the previous two seasons in Texas, where he did brilliant work for the Astros. He’s not the only veteran starter on Texas’ list, as tweets from TR Sullivan of MLB.com and Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News indicate the team has at least discussed J.A. Happ, Lance Lynn, Yusei Kikuchi, Shelby Miller, Martin Perez, Derek Holland, Nate Karns and Sam Howard.
  • Contrary to a prior report, the Rockies are not interested in Padres slugger Wil Myers, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post tweets. Myers presumably would’ve taken over at first base in Colorado had it acquired him, but that doesn’t appear to be in the cards. The 28-year-old is owed a guaranteed $64MM through 2023, which could make him a tough sell after back-to-back seasons of unspectacular offensive production.
  • Even after signing Chris Herrmann on Tuesday, the Athletics will continue to monitor the market for catchers, according to GM David Forst (via Jane Lee of MLB.com). However, Forst noted that “it’s nice to be in a spot right now where we have two Major League catchers who fit well,” referring to Herrmann and Josh Phegley.
  • The Rockies have hired Dave Magadan as their hitting coach and moved Ron Gideon to first base coach, GM Jeff Bridich told Nick Groke of The Athletic and other reporters Tuesday. Magadan will take over for Duane Espy, whom the Rockies parted with last month. A major league infielder from 1986-2001, Magadan has garnered significant coaching experience since his playing career ended. The 56-year-old was the Diamondbacks’ hitting coach from 2015-18, but they let him go after the season.

Morosi’s Latest: Bumgarner, Realmuto, Padres, Yankees, Gray, Fiers, Graveman, Jays, Happ

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Madison Bumgarner has been an oft-mentioned trade candidate this offseason, and the Giants are reportedly open to at least discussing their longtime ace.  As the Winter Meetings begin, however, MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi tweets that San Francisco isn’t close to a Bumgarner trade.  It remains to be seen if the Giants will actually go ahead with dealing the southpaw, as the team seems to still be weighing its rebuild-or-reload options under new GM Farhan Zaidi.  Morosi has previously mentioned the Phillies, Braves, and Brewers as three teams interested in Bumgarner if a trade were to develop, though his latest tweet adds the Yankees to that list as well.  Bumgarner is only under contract through the 2019 season, and even though his numbers have been solid but less than ace-like over the last two years, he would still provide a notable boost to any rotation.

Here’s more from Morosi’s Twitter feed…

  • The Padres have a “genuine interest” in acquiring J.T. Realmuto, while the Yankees aren’t in serious talks with the Marlins about the All-Star catcher.  Yankees GM Brian Cashman was quick to deny rumors about his team’s interest in Realmuto last week, and New York already has Gary Sanchez behind the plate for the foreseeable future (though some rumors indicated that Sanchez would’ve gone back to Miami as part of a Realmuto swap).  San Diego, meanwhile, has its own established catcher in defensive whiz Austin Hedges, plus one of the game’s top prospects in Francisco Mejia behind the plate.  It’s fair to speculate if Mejia could potentially head back to the Marlins as part of a package for Realmuto, and the Padres certainly have the overall prospect depth that Miami is demanding for Realmuto’s services.  Since Realmuto is controlled only through the 2020 season, his acquisition would indicate that the Padres and GM A.J. Preller are perhaps ready to end their rebuilding process and begin to compete by at least 2020, if not even next season.
  • Speaking of the Padres and Yankees, the two teams continue to discuss a potential Sonny Gray trade.  Morosi noted on the continued talks between the two sides earlier this week, and rumors of the Padres’ interest in Gray date back to last month.  Pitcher-friendly Petco Park would seemingly be an ideal place for Gray to rebound from his rough stint in the Bronx, especially since Gray’s drastic home/road splits from 2018 already indicated that his struggles were particularly contained to Yankee Stadium.
  • Mike Fiers and Kendall Graveman are two names on the Blue Jays’ list of pitching targets.  With an inexperienced starting five projected for 2019, the Jays were known to be looking at rotation help this winter — particularly if, as Morosi notes, the team decides to trade Aaron Sanchez or Marcus Stroman as part of its rebuilding efforts.  Fiers and Graveman were both recently non-tendered by the A’s, and fit Toronto’s need for short-term additions are a relatively low cost.  Fiers was in this same position last winter, as he signed a one-year deal with the Tigers and turned in solid numbers both before and after a midseason trade to Oakland.  Graveman would likely be pursued for a two-year deal with a low salary in the first year, as the right-hander is likely miss all of 2019 recovering from Tommy John surgery.  Graveman was originally drafted by the Jays in 2013 (when Alex Anthopoulos was GM) and traded to the A’s in November 2014 as part of the four-player package that brought Josh Donaldson to Toronto.
  • With Patrick Corbin and Nathan Eovaldi off the board, “J.A. Happ is viewed as the next key domino in the pitching marketplace,” Morosi writes.  Happ has received interest from as many as 10 teams, as his age (36) would seemingly make him more amendable to a short-term contract, thus widening his market beyond that of a younger pitcher like Dallas Keuchel, whose desire for a longer-term and more expensive contract limits his list of suitors.  It stands to reason that many of the same teams interested in both Happ and Keuchel, to say nothing of other free agent arms like Yusei Kikuchi or Charlie Morton, so it stands to reason that we could see something of a run on starting pitching if Happ or any of those names were to sign in the near future.

Giants Notes: Bumgarner, Kikuchi, Pence, Offseason, Righetti

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Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi dropped some thoughts on a pair of left-handed pitchers in an interview today on KNBR. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi recently kicked off a round of speculation on MadBum with a report suggesting the Giants were open to discussing him and had held talks with the Brewers and Phillies. Zaidi cast quite some doubt on that characterization, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area relays on Twitter. The newly minted San Francisco exec says a peer with another org rumored to have been in touch on Bumgarner cracked: “Hey, I hear we’re talking to you guys about Madison Bumgarner. Should we be?”

Zaidi further joked: “That gives you a little sense of the accuracy of some of the stuff that’s out there.”

A bit more out of San Fran…

  • In that same chat, Zaidi gave greater credence to the idea that the Giants could have interest in Yusei Kikuchi, per Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. The club has scouted Kikuchi “extensively,” according to Zaidi, who predicted that the market is likely to build on the Japanese hurler in advance of and into the coming Winter Meetings. Whether and to what extent the Giants will push for a deal remains to be seen, though Zaidi noted that as a West Coast club, the Giants could be a geographic fit for Kikuchi. Kikuchi has until early January to come to terms with a big league organization, and at 27 years of age, he’s young enough that he could be a key contributor for the Giants in a couple of years even if they do embark on some degree of a rebuild over the next year or two.
  • In a Q&A with NBC’s Jessica Kleinschmidt, Hunter Pence reveals that he’s heard from “a couple” teams this offseason but has not yet heard from the Giants. However, CEO Larry Baer told Pence that the Giants would be represented this offseason when the veteran outfielder heads to the Dominican Winter League to test out some adjustments he’s made to his swing in an effort to rediscover his form at the plate. Pence discusses some of those changes with Kleinschmidt and unsurprisingly adds that he would “absolutely” be open to a return to the Giants. As Pavlovic notes in an overview of the Giants’ roster, outfield depth is just one of several areas that Zaidi could look to add some veteran help this winter. Backup catcher, the starting rotation and bullpen are among the other ares that seem likely to be addressed.
  • The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly also runs through the many needs facing Zaidi this offseason (subscription required), suggesting that the Giants will look at some “non-splashy” additions to the outfield mix — such as a right-handed-hitting platoon partner for Steven Duggar, for instance. Both Pavlovic and Baggarly point out that substantial rotation depth was a hallmark of Zaidi’s Dodgers, so the organization could look to field a group of options that is eight or nine arms deep (presumably, with some of those options coming on minor league deals and being stashed in Triple-A).
  • Despite the changes in the front office, former pitching coach Dave Righetti, who spent the 2018 season as a special advisor to former GM Bobby Evans, will “definitely” have a role with the team, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Righetti worked with Evans to help evaluate pitchers during Spring Training, and he also evaluated the organization’s minor league arms and weighed in on some prospects leading up to the draft. Righetti previously spent 18 seasons on the Giants’ Major League coaching staff.

Pitching Market Notes: Eovaldi, Yankees, Happ, Kikuchi, Gray, MadBum

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After a busy day of arbitration decisions, it’s worth taking stock of some recent developments in the broader market. We’ve already touched upon some major storylines today, with looks at Patrick Corbin (link), Zack Greinke (link), and Carlos Carrasco (link). Here’s more …

  • Though Corbin seems to be captivating the market at present, chatter on Nathan Eovaldi is also “heating up,” per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link). Unsurprisingly, the Red Sox and Astros are presently seen as prime contenders to land him. With the American League shaping up to be another clash of titans, those organizations are positioned t stake some dough on Eovaldi’s upside.
  • The Yankees are a major player on Corbin, of course, but also some other arms — and not just as a backup plan. Indeed, per Jayson Stark of The Athletic (via Twitter), the club could even add another significant starter if it does get Corbin. That’d be quite a surprise, given that the team would appear to have a clear starting five if Corbin signs, but perhaps there’s a way to pull something off that would still make sense and leave the club with immense rotation depth.
  • Meanwhile, southpaw J.A. Happ is said to have “ten teams chasing” him at this point, per Jon Heyman of Fancred. One of those is the Brewers, who’d presumably like to bolster their rotation but also don’t appear to have an immense amount of money to use. Of course, giving up on Jonathan Schoop clears a big piece of payroll, so long as the club finds a way to address its infield needs without using all the savings.
  • There’s also a “strong” market for Japanese hurler Yusei Kikuchi, Heyman tweets. Unsurprisingly, west coast clubs — the Dodgers, Padres, Giants, and Mariners, at least — appear to be lining up for the 27-year-old. It’s still hard to know what kind of salary and duration he’ll be able to command. But as this particular list of clubs shows, Kikuchi’s unusual youth will play a major role in his market by opening the door to quite a few organizations to pursue him.
  • Elsewhere, the Yankees are still trying to offload an asset in Sonny Gray. Per Ken Davidoff of the New York Post, with GM Brian Cashman saying he has discussed a multitude of different scenarios involving Gray, including some larger deals. That suggests that the Yanks are comfortable hanging onto Gray for a while as they sort through the possibilities, rather than putting him on the market and taking the best deal then available.
  • Gray is as good as gone from the team’s perspective, but that’s clearly not the same situation for Giants ace Madison Bumgarner. The burly southpaw is reportedly on the table. But that doesn’t mean he’ll be priced at a level that will lead to a deal. Indeed one organizational source tells Heyman (Twitter link) they “don’t see [Bumgarner] going anywhere this winter.” Certainly, the Giants have little need to dump Bumgarner if they aren’t getting something worthwhile in return. Teams with interest, though, will remain wary of a big price for one season of a player with recent shoulder woes and some performance questions.

Giants “Willing To Engage” In Talks On Madison Bumgarner

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The Giants are “willing to engage” with rival organizations on trade scenarios involving star lefty Madison Bumgarner, according to a report from Jon Morosi of MLB.com. It’s not yet clear just how likely it is that the San Francisco organization will actually move one of its best-loved and most-accomplished players.

Bumgarner is a living baseball legend, owing less to his years of excellent regular-season service than to his incredible postseason feats. The version of the burly southpaw that owned the 2014 World Series will live on no matter the course of the remainder of his career. But after the two seasons he just endured, with a shoulder injury seeming to sap his strength, it’s at best questionable whether the Giants’ staff ace can still deliver a vintage performance.

While front office opinions on the matter no doubt vary, numerous teams figure at least to check in on the lefty. Three, at a minimum, have done so already, according to Morosi. The Brewers and Phillies “have had at least preliminary dialogue,” he writes, while the Braves “checked in” but do not appear to be engaged at the moment.

It’s said that newly installed Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi is angling for young pitching in a deal, but it’s fair to wonder whether he’ll be able to get any top-flight arms. After all, the upside here is limited by the fact that Bumgarner is one season away from free agency. His $12MM contract is plenty reasonable despite the questions, and the possibility of a qualifying offer (or even an extension) hold out hope for some future value. But the unanswered questions create significant downside, even on a single-season commitment.

At base, acquiring Bumgarner would mean buying a pitcher who has been a solid, not terribly durable performer over the past two seasons. He certainly did what he could to make it back from a shocking early-2017 dirt bike accident, and has somehow maintained a 3.29 ERA since the start of that ill-fated campaign, but it’s hard to look past the warning signs.

Before the injury, the now-29-year-old hurler had been good for about a strikeout per inning with two or fewer walks per nine innings, and a total of 200+ frames per season. He had run up four-straight sub-4.00 ERA campaigns, with peripherals that largely matched, all before his near-unimaginable playoff heroics. At his best, Bumgarner drew swings and misses at more than an 11 percent clip while allowing hard contact on less than a third of the balls put in play against him.

Operating at less than full capacity last year, Bumgarner’s swinging-strike rate fell to 9.2% and his K%-BB% dropped to 12.0%. (He had once sat at over a 10 percent K%-BB% for three-straight seasons.) And his hard-hit rate ballooned to 41.6% (per Fangraphs) — a massive rise for a pitcher who has averaged below 30 percent for his career.

The physical changes certainly appear to have had a role. While he was never a flamethrower, Bumgarner averaged as much as 93 mph with his fastball. It has now been three seasons since his heater average heater topped 92 mph. As the effectiveness of that table-setting offering declined, he increasingly went away from the four-seamer in 2018, throwing it just 34.2% of the time — well shy of his 45.6% career average. While the remainder of his arsenal was still effective, the heater had been the bread to his cutter’s butter.

Whether Bumgarner can regain some of the lost velocity, or find a way to make up for it, remains to be seen. There’s still reason to believe he’ll be at least a useful starting pitcher regardless, if for no other reasons than because of his undeniable competitive fire and remaining youth. While he gutted out the results last year, his 3.99 FIP, 4.32 xFIP, and 4.42 SIERA tell a different story — though it’s not a tale of an irredeemably lost pitcher. Even if he can’t regain much of his former luster, Bumgarner will bring the promise of some solid innings, at least so long as he’s able to remain healthy.

Of course, the allure of the Bumgarner of yore will no doubt play some role in negotiations. Clubs such as those rumored to have interest aren’t looking only for a useful, back-of-the-rotation piece. They all have designs on the postseason, and no doubt at least entertain dreams of Bumgarner not only helping to get there, but also rising to the occasion when the moment calls for it.

Perhaps, too, some teams’ scouts and analysts have sussed out some reasons to believe in a turnaround. It’s fair to guess that Zaidi is about as well-versed on the subject as anyone. His former club, the Dodgers, no doubt analyzed Bumgarner closely as a division rival. And he’s now privy to all that the Giants know about their own leading pitcher. Whether Bumgarner is dealt, and what he draws in return, will also tell us quite a bit about the San Francisco organization’s views — on the southpaw as well as the rest of the roster. After all, the club has the financial means to hold on to Bumgarner, whether to maintain fan interest and boost his value for the summer trade deadline or to pursue another extension.

The broader market is certainly a factor as well. Zaidi can only market one season of Bumgarner, but in some regards that’s a positive. There are plenty of intriguing lefty starters available in free agency — most notably, Patrick Corbin, Dallas Keuchel, J.A. Happ, and Yusei Kikuchi — but all figure to command significant guarantees over multiple seasons. Giving up some young talent, rather than taking on potentially damaging long-term contract commitments, will surely hold appeal. Of course, it’s also true that the presence of so many alternatives — remember that James Paxton (via trade) and CC Sabathia went off the board already, and there are other talented starters available in trade free agency — will tend to reduce demand.

All said, it’s far from clear that there’ll be sufficient interest to force Zaidi’s hand. But the mere fact that there’s a possibility of a pre-season swap is itself notable, especially given Bumgarner’s special status in franchise lore. It’ll certainly be interesting to see how this situation plays out.

Giants Exercise Options Over Madison Bumgarner, Pablo Sandoval

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The Giants announced today that they have exercised club options over lefty Madison Bumgarner and third baseman Pablo Sandoval. With players returning from the 60-day DL, the club adds, it’ll have four open 40-man roster spots at the outset of the offseason.

Needless to say, there was never any question that the San Francisco organization would hang on to Bumgarner. While he has certainly not been his usual, ironclad self in the past two seasons, Bumgarner is a clear bargain at $12MM (rather than a $1.5MM buyout).

Bumgarner’s deal, which expires after the 2019 season, included a $35MM guarantee over five seasons. As it turns out, with both option years being exercised, he’ll have earned $56MM in a seven-season term. That has clearly been a big win for the Giants.

As for Sandoval, his second stint with the organization will continue for the time being, though he’ll still need to earn a roster spot in camp. When he re-joined the club in the middle of the 2017 season, he inked a deal that included successive club options at the league-minimum salary. The Red Sox are still responsible for his $18MM salary in 2019, less the$555K minimum, along with a $5MM buyout for a 2020 club option.

While the 32-year-old Sandoval has not exactly thrived of late, he was reasonably productive in 2018 before suffering a season-ending injury. Over 252 plate appearances, he posted a .248/.310/.417 slash. That’s a roughly league-average level of offensive output, which the veteran had not even approached since his original run with the Giants ended in 2014.

West Notes: Trout, Beltre, Andrus, Bumgarner, Posey

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Mike Trout just concluded yet another MVP-caliber season, yet team success has continued to elude the superstar.  Trout has only been part of one playoff team (in 2014) and has yet to win even a single postseason game after eight seasons.  With Trout only signed for another two years, the Angels may need to turn things around quick to have a better chance at extending or re-signing him, and Trout indeed told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register that playing for a contender is a “huge” factor in deciding his future plans.  “I want to come to the ballpark playing for something.  That’s everybody’s goal here as a player.  You don’t want to come playing for nothing,” Trout said.  This being said, he still holds the Angels organization in high regard: “My years here we haven’t been winning, but they’ve been taking care of me.  I enjoy coming to the ballpark.  It (stinks) when it’s September and you’re out of it. But when I was a kid they took a chance on me.  We’ll see how it goes. I’ve got a couple more years and we’ll go from there.”  Trout also laughed off the idea of the Angels trading him over the next two years, per Fletcher, saying he “for sure” expects to remain with the franchise through at least 2020. In hopes of keeping Trout beyond then, the Halos are expected to discuss an extension with him during the offseason, Fletcher writes.

Elsewhere around the majors’ West divisions…

  • There is a chance the left side of the Rangers’ infield will consist of two new starters next season, as third baseman Adrian Beltre could retire and shortstop Elvis Andrus has an opt-out in his contract. In the latest update regarding the two close friends, Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram tweets that Beltre is “genuinely torn” on whether to come back in 2019.  Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News believes Beltre will walk away, and he explains why in a piece which pays respect to the future Hall of Famer. Andrus, meanwhile, is still planning to stay with his current contract, as was the case a few weeks ago, according to Wilson. Vacating the remainder of the deal would mean leaving a four-year, $58MM guarantee on the table, which may be too risky in the wake of a down season for Andrus.
  • The Giants are open minded with what to do with ace Madison Bumgarner as they seek a new baseball operations leader, CEO Larry Baer suggested Sunday. The team “does not plan to dictate a timetable for contention or major decisions such as trading or keeping” Bumgarner, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Instead, the Giants will listen to the candidates’ opinions on the best course of action in regards to Bumgarner, who’s only under control for another year. As for longtime battery mate Buster Posey, the soon-to-be 32-year-old will remain behind the plate when he returns from hip surgery next season – perhaps as early as Opening Day, per Schulman. “There’s been no discussion about him playing any other position,” executive vice president Brian Sabean said. “He’s our franchise player and he wants to catch.”
  • More on the Giants, who plan to go into next season with Steven Duggar as their Opening Day center fielder, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic tweets. The 24-year-old got his first taste of major league action this season and hit a below-average .255/.303/.390 (87 wRC+) in 152 plate appearances, though he did account for four Defensive Runs Saved and a 1.4 Ultimate Zone Rating in 345 innings as a center fielder. Baseball America (subscription required) ranks Duggar as the Giants’ sixth-best prospect.

Madison Bumgarner Discusses Future With Giants

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Giants southpaw Madison Bumgarner discussed his future with the organization in a chat with Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. It’s certainly well worth a full read.

Bumgarner, 29, says that the club has yet to reach out regarding a possible contract extension. As things stand, he indicated, he’s not sure what the team’s intentions are as it prepares for an offseason of uncertainty.

Of course, it’s certain that Bumgarner’s 2019 option will be exercised. But it’s at least possible to imagine the San Francisco club seeking offers after picking it up at a bargain $12MM rate. Despite some areas of concern that have arisen this year for the big lefty, there’d be plenty of demand for his services if he was made available.

Bumgarner says he hasn’t entertained the thought that his time with the Giants could conceivably be nearing an end, explaining that he’s “a one-day-at-a-time kind of guy.” Of course, he did also say that he’d “like to be [in San Francisco] my whole career,” so it seems fair to assume that Bumgarner isn’t exactly itching for a change of scenery.

Certainly, it’d be interesting to see how talks might progress if the Giants open negotiations with the southpaw’s reps at The Legacy Agency. His outstanding track record speaks for itself, of course. He’s a premium regular season performer and postseason legend.

Despite the obvious positives, Bumgarner has shown some cracks. He has missed significant time in each of the past two seasons, breaking a string of six-straight 200-inning campaigns. He also hasn’t been as dominant when on the hill. This year, for instance, Bumgarner has a 3.14 ERA but is averaging only 7.5 K/9 and surrendering a career-high 3.1 BB/9.

The future is uncertain to an extent not previously seen for one of the game’s preeminent workhorses. Estimators value Bumgarner as a low-4.00 ERA hurler. He’s allowing far more hard contact (40.1%) than ever before, while posting declines in swinging-strike rate (9.5%) and average fastball velocity (90.8 mph). That he has nevertheless succeeded is a credit to Bumgarner, to be sure, but sustainability remains in question.

As Schulman explains, there are a host of variables at play. Though Bumgarner says he doesn’t expect to command a premium for the excess value he provided under his early-career extension, he does note that “guys are looking to get paid what they think they’re worth compared to the market and how other players are getting paid.” What that might be in this case, and whether the Giants are positioned to make that sort of deal, is open to debate — and negotiation.

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