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Rumor: Atlanta Braves may have tough deal to make for Madison Bumgarner

By Alan Carpenter

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 02: Madison Bumgarner #40 of the San Francisco Giants speaks to umpire Alfonso Marquez #72 at the end of the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on April 02, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 02: Madison Bumgarner #40 of the San Francisco Giants speaks to umpire Alfonso Marquez #72 at the end of the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on April 02, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images) /
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SCOTTSDALE, AZ – FEBRUARY 21: Madison Bumgarner #40 of the San Francisco Giants poses during the Giants Photo Day on February 21, 2019 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)
SCOTTSDALE, AZ – FEBRUARY 21: Madison Bumgarner #40 of the San Francisco Giants poses during the Giants Photo Day on February 21, 2019 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images) /

No trade clauses are used for a variety of reasons.  Madison Bumgarner looks to have gone with the ‘All Strategy’ plan with his.

Before this Summer’s July 31st trade deadline, Madison Bumgarner is definitely going to be in play.  However, it’s apparent that he wants to control the process as much as possible, and that could certainly impact the Atlanta Braves.

When Bumgarner signed his 5-year contract extension with the Giants back in mid-April of 2012, the Giants and he negotiated a clause permitting him to annually name 8 teams to exclude from trade talks.

Kinda.

Ken Rosenthal has obtained his 2019 list, and from Bumgarner’s point of view, it’s brilliant:

Let’s see… which teams could still be in competition for playoff spots… and which ones don’t need pitching?

Of those clubs that aren’t on his short list…

  • Dodgers… trading within the division could be difficult; don’t really need anything
  • Rockies… within division; will have to make a run to even consider a deal
  • DBacks… within division; not really in position to go for a ‘rental’
  • Nationals… don’t need pitching
  • Mets… don’t have enough farm system to make a trade
  • Rays… such a deal isn’t their style
  • Indians… their needs are on the offensive side
  • Mariners… fading fast

Only the Angels (not enough farm) and Twins (would they go this far??) might be plausible… and both of these would be ‘rental only’ situations, for sure.

It’s possible that there are indeed some “I don’t ever want to go there” teams among the 8 named, but it certainly appears that he was targeting the Most Likely Destinations that he might be dealt this Summer.

Among other things, this clearly conveys a message:  he’s expecting to be traded this Summer.

That shouldn’t be surprising… the more surprising thing may have been that Giants’ GM Farhan Zaidi didn’t deal him during the Winter.

There were a couple of factors at work there:  he was only hired during the first week of November, and their fans would been all over him.

At this point, with the Giants falling behind in the NL West, the public barriers to selling off his team’s assets and truly going into their version of a rebuild would seem to be a lot easier to overcome by the end of July.

So expect lots of pitching – of all sorts – to be on the block once the All-Star break is over with.

Back to Bumgarner, though:  what’s his angle?

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