MLB Rumors: Should the San Francisco Giants Place Pitcher Madison Bumgarner on the Trading Block?
Bumgarner still has another $12 million club option for 2019 remaining on his contract
After winning the World Series in 2010, 2012 and 2014, the San Francisco Giants established themselves as the closest thing to an MLB dynasty since the New York Yankees of the late 90s.
Built upon a foundation of homegrown players, the Giants burst on to the scene at the start of this decade and spent the better part of it striking fear into the hearts of opponents they faced come October.
It wasn't until 2016 that the Giants would suffer a series loss in the postseason this decade.
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Now, with their past triumphs behind them, the Giants find themselves at a bit of a crossroad.
The current iteration of the team still features many of the familiar faces that were responsible for winning those World Series titles, such as catcher Buster Posey, outfielder Hunter Pence and shortstop Brandon Crawford among others.
Those players have gotten older, however, and the Giants don't have plenty of highly regarded prospects currently in their organization who can be called up and immediately help the team win again.
Sure, the Giants are currently managing to stick around .500, but their run differential suggests that they are actually lucky to have the record they have now, and it's entirely possible that they could fall further down the standings as the season progresses.
In a recent article, ESPN's Buster Olney suggested that if the Giants start to struggle more as the season goes on, they may want to consider selling during this upcoming trading season, and the player they could benefit the most from trading may be starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner.
As Olney goes on to write, Bumgarner would become the most coveted player to trade for in baseball if the Giants make him available, and it's hard to disagree with that assessment.
Though he has missed time due to some freak injuries recently, Bumgarner has remained pretty healthy otherwise for the majority of his career.
Bumgarner's real appeal, though, may be as a potential postseason ace, and that's a role he has already held well many times in his career.
Per Baseball Reference, Bumgarner boasts a sparkling 2.11 ERA across 102.1 postseason innings pitched thus far in his career, and to be clear, luck has not been the driving force behind him putting up those numbers. Bumgarner has simply been dominant in the postseason as he's only allowed 74 hits and he's struck 87 hitters while only issuing free passes to 18.
If Bumgarner is made available via trade by the Giants, just about every team with World Series aspirations will likely inquire about him. That's a good thing for the Giants because that will make it easier for them to exact a good prospect haul in return for their ace.
For now, the Giants are not offering any indication that they are planning to trade Bumgarner, but with the southpaw recently receiving clearance to start throwing again, it may be time for the franchise to decide if dealing him this season is best for their future.
More news about the latest MLB trade rumors should be made available soon.
