Giants: Potential landing spots for Madison Bumgarner

Madison Bumgarner landing spot: San Francisco Giants

I know I said I could not envision a scenario in which Bumgarner returns to the Giants.

Nevertheless, I’ll try to do just that because it is somewhat bizarre that the team’s best pitcher of the last decade is looking like he is going to walk and we have all sort of accepted it.

Maybe it is because the Nostalgia Bash that was the final day of the season purged us of our longing for the glory days. Perhaps Bochy’s exit and Kapler’s hire have resigned us to the fact that a new chapter is being written in the organization’s history.

But does the front office really believe that in a few years they will have just as valuable an ace as Bumgarner? Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto will most likely be gone by then, and it is still unclear if Tyler Beede and Logan Webb are long-term pieces.

Bumgarner, given his history with the club, might be the best chance the Giants have at signing an elite free-agent starting pitcher. History has shown how difficult it is for the team to attract big-name free agents.

Personally, I believe Zaidi will do his due diligence with Bumgarner, maybe even giving him a respectable offer with the expectation that Bumgarner will sign somewhere else. That way, Zaidi can at least save face with the fanbase.

Wherever Bumgarner lands, it will be interesting to see how the process plays out.