Giants: Three reasons to re-sign Madison Bumgarner

The San Francisco Giants have a big decision to make regarding Madison Bumgarner. Here are three reasons why they need to re-sign him.

Whether or not Madison Bumgarner will be a member of the San Francisco Giants in 2020 is still up in the air. While the team has made him a qualifying offer, it is still very possible that he will test the free-agent market.

He has been such an important part of the team’s success, but it is still unclear if team president Farhan Zaidi believes that he will be a key asset the next time the Giants are able to contend.

Bumgarner turned 30 in August, and two former Giants aces by the name of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain showed that the other side of 30 can sometimes be an ugly place for a pitcher.

But then there are pitchers like Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer who are still pitching at an extremely high level in their mid-30s. That’s not to say Bumgarner will still be that prolific in five years, but it shows that it certainly can be done.

Another question is if Bumgarner wants to wait around for the Giants to be contenders. There’s a chance that he may want to win now, and if he doesn’t see the Giants as being in a position to put together a winning club anytime soon, he could decide to sign elsewhere.

If that’s the case, then there really isn’t much that the team can do to convince him to stay. But if there’s even an inkling within him that makes him want to stay with the Giants, then the front office should fight as hard as they can to ensure that he remains a member of the team.

I firmly believe he still has at least a few more solid seasons in him, and if at all possible, those years should be with the Giants. And if the Giants are able to make it to the playoffs in the next few years, they would be in a much better position with a postseason pitcher as accomplished as Bumgarner in the mix.

So without further ado, here are three reasons why the San Francisco Giants should re-sign Madison Bumgarner this offseason.

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.

3. He’s fun to watch

There’s a very real chance that the San Francisco Giants will not be all that fun to watch next season.

Unless they make some expansive upgrades or they have several players vastly improve upon their performance in 2019, I don’t really see them being legitimate contenders.

Therefore, from the perspective of a selfish fan, I want there to be at least some reason to watch a team that may be headed for a fourth straight losing season. And while Bumgarner is not the only player who is fun and exciting to watch, he would be one of a select few.

I’d say Mike Yastrzemski and Mauricio Dubon are two others I’m looking forward to seeing more of, but I would really miss that 6’5″ beast out on the mound every fifth day, blowing snot rockets and hitting occasional home runs while jawing with an umpire or giving a batter the evil eye after some perceived disrespect.

Last season, my family and I went to see Bumgarner start in Milwaukee, partly thinking it was our last chance to see him as a Giant. But also because we knew that with him on the mound, the Giants had the best chance to be competitive.

He’s a fan favorite, he’s fun to watch, and he’s a good pitcher. I think that those three reasons are more than enough to want Madison Bumgarner back with the San Francisco Giants in 2020 and beyond.