Atlanta Braves add Madison Bumgarner return to postseason: Castrovince
By Fred Owens
The Giants POV
Fangraphs recently wrote on this subject, pointing out the obvious.
- Bumgarner is a fan favorite, trading a player of his stature is always risky.
- The Giants’ system is really bad, the team is old, and they have zero chance of postseason play in 2019.
- The current roster is expensive: Roster Resource projects a $161.4M payroll for a team that could lose 90 or more games.
Face-of-the-franchise Buster Posey’s body is beginning to show the wear and tear. He left the team in August for surgery to correct a reported impingement. The actual procedure removed bone spurs and repaired a torn labrum.
Posey will be seven months post-surgery when spring training begins, but the Giants signed another everyday-level catcher, so they don’t expect him to start the season on the active list.
Even if he were healthy, Giants have no intention of trading Posey. They could trade minor pieces like Will Smith or Brandon Belt, but Bumgarner would bring the most significant return – or would he?
The Market and Zaidi’s dilemma
In a pitching market lacking in affordable, high-end talent, fans immediately believe trading Bumgarner would restock the system. That’s not the case for several reasons.
- He’s a rental; Bumgarner’s a free agent after 2019
- Bumgarner’s last two seasons were disrupted by injury
- A dirt bike accident in 2017 didn’t please the team’s leadership.
- In 2018 line drive hitting his hand and broke a finger; he eventually had surgery and spent 69 days on the disabled list.
Since returning from those injuries he hasn’t pitched well, make him a sell low candidate. Selling low might well raise the ire of Giant’s faithful, and make Zaidi’s first year uncomfortable, particularly if he goes elsewhere and pitches as he did in 2016 when he threw 226 2/3 innings with a 2.74 ERA, 1.028 WHIP, and finished with 4.9 fWAR.
Zaidi’s said he wants a top-level pitching prospect to move Bumgarner. So far, no one sees him as the difference maker of the level required for that return. That may yet happen, or he may wait until the deadline and hope for a Bumgarner resurgence.
Considering all of those things, why would the Atlanta Braves consider dealing for him?