Madison Bumgarner looked as good as ever in his last start and, considering the Giants are open to trading him, it’s a bit surprising that a couple of American League contenders seem to be backing off a bit from pursuing him.
The Twins and Yankees, owner of the AL’s two best records, have either slowed down their negotiations with the Giants or they’re still split on whether the impending free agent is worth the cost.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Wednesday the Twins haven’t have not had “high-level talks in weeks” about Bumgarner, whose dominating 11-strikeout performance against the Rockies Tuesday signaled he can still be among the game’s elite.
Can you imagine Bumgarner anchoring a postseason rotation with Twins young ace Jose Berrios and Jake Odorizzi?
However, there seems to be little traction for a possible Twins deal. Instead, Minnesota is reportedly more focused on trying to pry left-handed reliever Will Smith from the Giants.
While the San Francisco Giants’ interest in dealing Madison Bumgarner remains clear, the Minnesota Twins haven’t engaged with them in high-level talks in recent weeks, a source with knowledge of discussions tells ESPN. Giants reliever Will Smith is on the Twins’ radar as of now.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 26, 2019
Should the Bumgarner talks with the Twins grow serious, the Giants still wouldn’t be able to touch the Twins’ top two prospects, shortstop Royce Lewis and outfielder Alex Kirilloff. But 20-year-old Double-A starter Brusdar Graterol and outfielder Trevor Larnach from Walnut Creek, would be seemingly more attainable. Graterol has pitched to a 1.89 ERA in nine starts while showing off a 100 mph fastball. The left-handed hitting Larnach from College Park High, the Twins’ No. 1 pick last year, has an .860 OPS in High-A ball at Fort Myers, Fla.
The Yankees’ decision-makers, meanwhile, are said to be still debating whether they should make a strong offer for Bumgarner, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported. Bumgarner’s epic postseason numbers are enticing for the Yankees (and any other contender) — 8-3 with a 2.11 ERA in 16 career postseason games.
But, outside of Tuesday’s outing, Bumgarner hasn’t been special this season. He has rather ordinary numbers: a 4.21 ERA and 4.16 FIP. While Bumgarner has also averaged 9.12 strikeouts with just 2.1 walks per game, before Tuesday he had arguably his worst start ever against the Dodgers last week — he allowed 10 hits and six earned runs in just 3 2/3 innings in L.A.
In addition, the Yankees seem intent on not overpaying for Bumgarner. They’ve made it known they won’t part with an impact youngster such as 24-year-old outfielder Clint Frazier (.283, 11 home runs, 34 RBIs) for the right to rent Bumgarner for the rest of the season.
Like the Twins, the Yankees appear to be resigned to looking elsewhere for rotation help. New York is said to be eyeing Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman, according to multiple reports.
Of course, we’ve still got a little over a month before the July 31 trade deadline. That’s a lot of time left for teams to change their minds about Bumgarner’s cost.
