San Francisco Giants Rumors: Winter Rumor Mill Roundup

The biggest headline rumor is the “will they wont they” with Madison Bumgarner. There was a moment where a Madison Bumgarner trade seemed imminent, but those rumors have cooled off and now it seems that he will remain a Giant at least until the non-waiver trade deadline.

As the Paxton to the Yankees deal set the barometer for the type of return the Giants could get for Bumgarner, they probably decided they wouldn’t get enough in return at this juncture and are willing to see how the market progresses over the course of the regular season. With Bumgarner back in good health and a keane eye on not letting him pitch to Whit Merrifield this spring, Bumgarner’s performance this season will be the biggest factor in determining his future in San Francisco.

The next big rumor is Yusei Kikuchi, the Japanese LHP who was posted by NBL this offseason. He is said to “like San Francisco”. Now if that isn’t a hot little nugget of barely information, I don’t know what is. I think if you polled most people in the world they would also “like San Francisco”, but I don’t know if the Giants are going to have the budget to sign most of the people in the world.

The Giants do need more starting pitching depth and Kikuchi, a left-handed starter, would immediately slot into the middle of the rotation barring injury. According to multiple reports, the Giants will be in on the Kikuchi meetings in Los Angeles this weekend. Hey, I’m in Los Angeles. Maybe I’ll go!

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Another nice rumor is many teams showing interest in Will Smith and Tony Watson. Both left-handed relivers are coming off good seasons and could be great additions to a contending bullpen. The main rumor whirling around is the Cardinals really want to enter the new “Willenium” and add Smith to their bullpen.

The main Cardinal said to be attached to this rumor is Jose Martinez, the 31 year old designated hitter who happens to play in the National League. On paper, Martinez is said to be a First Baseman and LF/RF, but most people know his glove is more of a liability and is the price of admission for having his bat in the line up.

He is appealing, but he is 31 which is something the Giants should be weary of and would be a liability playing in the spacious AT&T outfield. According to Mark Saxon of the Athletic, the Cards might be willing to deal Tyler O’Neil and that would seem like a much more appealing and a more fair option than Martinez. O’Neil is just 23 and still on his rookie contract and has shown some serious right-handed pop at the plate as well as decent defense and young legs. If O’Neil’s “Future Stars” card in MLB the Show 18 is any indicator, he should be really good! If there was a deal for Will Smith, O’Neil might be the player that gets this deal done.