Giants: Three reasons to re-sign Madison Bumgarner

1. He’s the best starting pitcher they have

Although his 2019 numbers may not fully reflect it, there is no question that Madison Bumgarner was the best pitcher on the starting staff.

In 34 starts, he went 9-9 with a 3.90 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 207.2 innings pitched, recording 20 quality starts along the way.

The fact that he stayed healthy for an entire season in itself was an encouraging sign after freak injuries in 2017 and 2018 limited him to 17 and 21 starts, respectively.

The highest ERA of his career is a slight concern, but the eye test showed that he can still challenge MLB hitters, as did an uptick in his strikeout rate from 7.6 to 8.8 K/9.

Every pitching staff needs an ace, and Bumgarner is unquestionably still that.

He might not be as dominant as he was at his peak, but he’s still a pitcher that opposing batters fear, and a workhorse who can give the bullpen a day off or put the team on his back to snap a losing streak.

I don’t see Jeff Samardzija or Johnny Cueto being a reliable ace next season, even though the Shark had a nice year and Cueto showed signs of life after returning from Tommy John surgery.

That’s all the more reason for the team to re-sign Bumgarner, and they would then automatically know who will be pitching on Opening Day.

That bleeds into the next reason that the Giants should bring Bumgarner back in 2020.