Could the Phillies trade rumors regarding Madison Bumgarner pick up steam?
Phillies trade rumors regarding starting pitching have been rampant since November, and once again they’re being connected to San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Bumgarner has a list of eight team no-trade list. That list includes the Phillies, Yankees, Cardinals, Braves, Red Sox, Cubs, Astros, and Brewers.
The original tweet from Rosenthal was a bit confusing with each of those teams ideally being interested in Bumgarner before the trade deadline.
Madison Bumgarner’s eight-team no-trade list, per sources:#Braves#RedSox#Cubs#Astros#Brewers#Yankees#Phillies#STLCards
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 11, 2019
Bumgarner chose teams strategically; list comprised solely of contenders that might want to acquire him from #SFGiants, not teams he wants to avoid.
Rosenthal notes that players add teams that might want to acquire them in order to gain leverage and have a bigger role in saying where they want to go.
More context on Bumgarner: His contract allows him to reject trades to eight teams. The eight I reported are the ones he can block. He can still approve trades to those teams, but generally players want some form of compensation to waive their no-trade protection.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 11, 2019
He also notes, fairly specifically, that it this could give him more control “if, say he prefers Braves to Phillies.”
Adding Bumgarner would give Philadelphia not only a veteran lefty in the starting rotation, but a three-time World Series winner with tremendous postseason success.
In eight starts Bumgarner has a 3.99 ERA and has allowed seven home runs for the Giants.
Vince Velaquez or Nick Pivetta could be trade pieces in a deal with San Francisco, a team six games under .500 heading into mid-May.
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Philadelphia already gave up top pitching prospect Sixto Sanchez in the J.T. Realmuto deal, so I’m not certain whether they’d give up pitchers Adonis Medina or Spencer Howard. Giving up a Velasquez or Pivetta might be enough on the top-end pitching side of the deal.
Because Bumgarner has just one year left on his deal the price tag won’t be astronomical, but the Phillies would likely have to include one of their top prospects and possibly have to choose between former first round picks, outfielders Adam Haseley and Mickey Moniak.
Haseley is much closer to the big leagues given his success in college, but Moniak, the number one overall pick a couple of years ago, has some untapped potential in his bat.
Bringing in Bumgarner would be the icing on the cake for general manager Matt Klentak after a busy offseason. Philadelphia pushed for other veteran lefties such as J.A. Happ and Patrick Corbin to no avail, and Bumgarner could be the best piece out there for a long postseason run.