The Arizona Diamondbacks have seen enough of Madison Bumgarner.
The D-backs designated Bumgarner for assignment Thursday and have seven days to trade the left-hander or see him be claimed by another team, ESPN's Jeff Passan reports. If he's not moved, the club can grant him his release or send him to the minors.
It's unlikely that any team will claim the 33-year-old as they would be on the hook for the remaining $34 million he's owed over the next two seasons ($20.4 million for the rest of 2023 and $14 million in 2024).
According to Passan, Bumgarner would be permitted to sign with any club for the major league minimum of $720,000 when he clears waivers, as expected.
Bumgarner has struggled during his four years with the Diamondbacks, pitching to a 5.23 ERA in 69 career starts. His final start came Wednesday when he allowed seven runs in three innings to the Cardinals to give him an ERA of 10.26 in 2023.
What's next for the four-time All-Star and one of the best pitchers in MLB postseason history? According to ESPN's Buster Olney, Bumgarner would like to reconnect with his former manager Bruce Bochy, who now manages the Al West-leading Texas Rangers.
"If the Diamondbacks do move on from Bumgarner and eat the rest of his contract, it'd make sense that he'd try to steer himself to the Rangers," Olney said on Twitter before it was reported that Bumgarner would be DFA'ed. "There is a ton of trust shared with new Texas Manager Bruce Bochy, built on three championships.
The problem with that is the Rangers don't have an opening in their rotation for an aging veteran whose fastball has dipped on average to 89.5 mph this season, 1.7 mph slower than in 2022, per ESPN. Not to mention the fact that the Rangers boost one of the best rotations in MLB with Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Martin Perez, Jon Gray and Andrew Heaney. And that doesn't include Dane Dunning and Cole Ragans, who have been dynamite out of the bullpen in long relief roles while waiting for their chance to start.
Shan, RJ and Bobby discussed Olney's report on Thursday's show. Listen to their thoughts on bringing in Bumgarner in the podcast below starting at 25:10.
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