Should San Francisco Giants Consider Trading Madison Bumgarner?

It’s a thought no San Francisco Giants fan wants to think about, but should they really consider trading Madison Bumgarner this summer?

I hate to break it to you, but this San Francisco Giants team is not very good. The Los Angeles Dodgers are about to take off in the NL West, and even if the Giants sneak into a Wild Card spot and make the World Series, good luck against those beats in the AL.

I love Bumgarner as much as anyone and hope he’s a Giant for life. But here’s the facts: He’ll play next year at age 29, he already has a lot of mileage on his arm, and he’s been banged up two years in a row.

Now I know that the injuries he’s had doesn’t really worry you about his arm, but he is getting old and doesn’t seem as invincible as he did just a few years ago.

Bumgarner has a $12 million team option for next year, but then is a free agent after the 2019 season.

I know the Giants front office is stubborn and will try to just piece this thing together again next year. But at some point you have to face reality and see the writing on the wall — this team needs a rebuild.

As a postseason team looking for an ace on the trade market, Bumgarner would jump to the top of my list. You know the heroics he’s had in the postseason, so why wouldn’t you want him on your team in October.

You would be getting a year-and-half for him now, so you should be able to get a pretty good haul. If the Giants wait until next summer — assuming they aren’t good again — they won’t get nearly as much.

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So what could you realistically get for Bumgarner right now? I guess maybe the question for the Giants and Giants fans, is what would it take.

Let’s first off be honest, whoever you get in return is not going to ever be as good for you as Madison Bumgarner has been.

But again, Bumgarner is an aging player with an expiring contract. Maybe the Giants extend him or re-sign him, but you’d be getting him for the decline of his career.

For me to give up Bumgarner, I would want two of the team’s top four prospects. Both of those prospects would also need to be top 100 prospects, with the best one being a top 25-50 prospect at least.

A couple of other B-prospects would need to be thrown into the deal as well.

I seriously doubt the Giants will trade him now, but it wouldn’t be the worst idea to dangle him out there and see how desperate teams really are for an ace at the deadline.