On Thursday, the Arizona Diamondbacks made a shocking move, designating struggling left-hander Madison Bumgarner for assignment after a poor start against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic was the first to announce the news.
Bumgarner allowed seven runs over three innings on Wednesday.
The veteran left-hander and three-time World Series champion signed with the D-Backs in 2019 on a five-year, $85 million contract after spending the first 11 seasons of his career with the San Francisco Giants.
On Twitter, ESPN’s Jeff Passan rattled off Bumgarner’s stats over his four-year tenure with Arizona, showing just how badly he struggled while with the team.
Madison Bumgarner’s final line with the Diamondbacks: a 5.23 ERA over 69 starters on a five-year, $85 million deal. Once he clears waivers, he’ll be available for every team at the major league minimum of $720,000. First with the news of Bumgarner being DFA’d was @nickpiecoro.
—Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 20, 2023
Bumgarner made 69 starts in a Diamondbacks uniform and posted a 5.23 ERA.
The three-time World Series champion is expected to clear waivers and hit the free agent market.
Once he clears waivers, he will be available to every MLB team for the league minimum of $720K.
Arizona already has Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly at the top of their rotation.
Bumgarner started four games this season for Arizona and posted an ERA of 10.26 while going 0-3.
It’s safe to say that this isn’t how the Diamondbacks envisioned Bumgarner’s contract would play out.
Unfortunately, he experienced a sharp decline in Arizona and was nowhere near his dominant self since his Giants days.
It is unclear where Bumgarner will end up, as his future is uncertain.
There are teams who could use some starting pitching and would benefit greatly from his veteran presence.
Perhaps we could see a team take a flyer on him, similarly to how the Los Angeles Dodgers made a play for Albert Pujols in 2021.
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MLB Insider Reveals Shocking Madison Bumgarner Update
