San Francisco Giants: A closer look at Madison Bumgarner’s no-trade list

San Francisco Giants ace and rumored trade candidate Madison Bumgarner can veto a trade to eight different teams this summer. Who made his no-trade list?

The San Francisco Giants are going to have one of the most coveted chips on the summer trade market in the form of left-hander Madison Bumgarner.

The longtime ace is a free agent at the end of the season, and with the Giants trudging along at six games below .500 in last place in the NL West standings, it only makes sense that they would try to turn a valuable veteran set to walk into prospects.

Bumgarner has limited no-trade protection in his contract that allows him to block deals to eight different teams, a list he determines at the start of each season.

Over the weekend, the teams on his no-trade list for this year were revealed by Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports:

Madison Bumgarner’s eight-team no-trade list, per sources:#Braves #RedSox #Cubs #Astros #Brewers #Yankees #Phillies #STLCards

Bumgarner chose teams strategically; list comprised solely of contenders that might want to acquire him from #SFGiants, not teams he wants to avoid.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 11, 2019

Why would he fill his no-trade list with contenders? Rosenthal explained the logic in a follow-up tweet:

That said, #SFGiants’ Bumgarner should be motivated to approve a trade: Any potential free agent traded in middle of season is ineligible for qualifying offer and exempt from draft-pick comp. List, however, gives him measure of control - if, say, he prefers #Braves to #Phillies.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 11, 2019

As a proven frontline starter with a wealth of postseason experience, Bumgarner is a fit on any contender looking to bolster its starting rotation.

Here’s a quick rundown of where those eight teams fall leaguewide in starting pitching ERA:

Chicago Cubs: 3.21 (2nd in MLB)
New York Yankees: 3.54 (6th in MLB)
Philadelphia Phillies: 3.72 (7th in MLB)
Houston Astros: 3.93 (11th in MLB)
St. Louis Cardinals: 4.35 (15th in MLB)
Atlanta Braves: 4.40 (18th in MLB)
Milwaukee Brewers: 4.58 (22nd in MLB)
Boston Red Sox: 4.73 (23rd in MLB)

It was recently reported by Andy Martino of the SNY Network that the Yankees are “not particularly high” on Bumgarner at the moment and would be more inclined to make a run at signing Dallas Keuchel.

That’s been the only real rumbling as far as Bumgarner being linked to a specific team.

The Phillies spent much of the offseason hoping to add a left-handed starter to slot between Aaron Nola and Jake Arrieta in an all-righty starting rotation, so they would presumably still have some level of interest.

The one team that really stands out as a difference-making landing spot is Milwaukee. The Brewers are tied for last in the majors with just eight quality starts as a team, and their lack of a true top-of-the-rotation ace has been well-documented over the past year.

Notably absent from that list is the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. Would new team president Farhan Zaidi risk the public relations nightmare that would come from trading Bumgarner to his old employer?

Upstart contenders like the Tampa Bay Rays and Minnesota Twins have exceeded expectations and are absent from the list, which could make for an interesting situation if Bumgarner does decide to leverage his no-trade power and the Giants are forced to turn away from those eight clubs.

There’s still a lot of time between now and the July 31st trade deadline, and Bumgarner’s status figures to be an ongoing story throughout the trade season.

One way or another, it’s looking more and more likely that the San Francisco Giants homegrown ace will be playing elsewhere by Aug. 1.

San Francisco Giants ace and rumored trade candidate Madison Bumgarner can veto a trade to eight different teams this summer. Who made his no-trade list?

Schedule