Before Madison Bumgarner delivered seven innings of three-run ball and Pablo Sandoval connected on the Giants’ fourth walk-off in six games, the same question echoed around Twitter, populated newspaper headlines and hijacked sports radio segments.
Could tonight be Madison Bumgarner's last start as a Giant? https://t.co/HjRVQetQPz
— Ann Killion (@annkillion) July 23, 2019
After a month of asking, it’s become a lazy question that no longer needs to be posed.
Sorry, trade suitors. Bumgarner isn’t going anywhere.
As noted last week, the Giants are showing decidedly Even-Year-y vibes. Bumgarner. Check. Sneaky good bullpen. Check. Timely hitting. Check.
The team has won 17 of 20, for the first time since 2001. The four walk-off in six games marks the first time the Giants have pulled that trick since 1958.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in my life," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
“It’s incredible. One night after another. I can’t even explain it."
Heading into Wednesday’s matinee with the Cubs, the Giants find themselves two games out of the top wild-card spot. They have transformed from obvious seller to obvious contender.
San Francisco now 2 games over .500. Bumgarner, who pitched well again, is slowly disappearing from the trade target lists of contenders, like the images on Marty McFly’s family picture in Back To The Future.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 24, 2019There’s also another significant — and underreported — reason why Bumgarner isn’t going anywhere.
The left-hander has an iron-clad trade clause.
Bumgarner can obstruct, or at least seriously complicate, a potential deal with damn near any contender who might try to pry him from Oracle Park.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox, MLB Network and The Athletic fame, was all over this back in May:
Madison Bumgarner’s eight-team no-trade list, per sources:#Braves#RedSox#Cubs#Astros#Brewers#Yankees#Phillies#STLCardsBumgarner chose teams strategically; list comprised solely of contenders that might want to acquire him from #SFGiants, not teams he wants to avoid.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 11, 2019More 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, 2019Farhan Zaidi, the rookie president of baseball ops, has proven to be a shrewd day trader, churning his overpriced and nightmarish portfolio into a legitimate, if wildly improbable, wild-card contender.
But swinging his biggest deal, selling his weightiest chip, is, effectively, impossible. A veteran Giant, under the veil of anonymity, said what everyone is thinking.
“If you trade Bumgarner now, this clubhouse will go ballistic,” the player told Nightengale.
“And so will the fanbase. How can you possibly justify it?
“I mean, what more do we have to do?’’
