How the Injury to Pitcher Madison Bumgarner Affects the San Francisco Giants' Short and Long-Term Plans
Bumgarner may not be able to pitch for the team until June at the earliest
What was supposed to be just an uneventful spring training outing turned into a disastrous one for pitcher Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants.
For those who may have missed it, Kansas City Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield hit a line drive that struck Bumgarner on his left hand, the same one he uses to pitch.
The force of the line drive broke Bumgarner's left pinkie, and after undergoing surgery, the 28-year-old is now expected to miss a significant portion of the season.
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According to a recent report from ESPN, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said that they are "hoping" that Bumgarner will be able to return and pitch for them sometime in June.
This is obviously a huge blow to the Giants.
After a disastrous 2017 campaign that ended with the team finishing in last place in the NL West, the Giants were aggressive in trying to improve the roster this offseason in the hopes of turning things around in a hurry.
They added Austin Jackson to take over the center field job and then swung a pair of big trades to land All-Stars. Former Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen is now slated to play right, while long-time Tampa Bay Ray Evan Longoria is now manning the hot corner for the Giants.
With those new additions in town and a mostly healthy roster, the Giants were looking like a Wild Card contender, and perhaps they could even contend for the division crown if things broke their way.
Now, the injury to Bumgarner changes things up a bit.
This late in the offseason, the Giants are going to struggle to find anyone in the free agent market who can even come close to filling the void left behind by Bumgarner. The southpaw is simply irreplaceable for the Giants, and the best the team can hope for now is to get steady if unspectacular innings from those who will take his starts.
A division crown is now starting to look out of reach for the Giants, and they will need the offense to click right away if they are to hang around the Wild Card race.
The injury to Bumgarner could also have ramifications that go beyond this season.
Back in February, Giants general manager Bobby Evans told MLB Network Radio that the team and Bumgarner have "mutual interest" in an extension, MLB insider Jon Morosi reported.
It will be interesting to see how the two sides will approach potential extension talks now in the wake of the injury.
In all likelihood, that "mutual interest" still remains for both sides, but it's hard to imagine a deal being struck anytime soon.
The Giants will probably want to see first if the injury will have any lingering effects on Bumgarner before they move forward with any deal.
The good news for the Giants here is that they still have a club option for Bumgarner in 2019, so even if an extension doesn't get done this year, they will continue to have time to execute that if that remains the plan.
More news about Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants should be made available soon.
