

© Kelley L Cox | 2018 Sep 28

Will the San Francisco Giants trade Madison Bumgarner? It’s a question that has already been asked ad nauseam this offseason, and it’s one that won’t likely die down anytime soon.

New VP of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi implied that trading Bumgarner this offseason is on the table during his introductory press conference, and a report dropped soon after that the Giants are listening to offers regarding their ace. Today saw another report, that the Phillies have spoken to the Giants about trading for Bumgarner.

Longtime MLB insider Tim Kurkjian joined Gary & Larry on Tuesday and said despite reports to the contrary, he doesn’t believe Bumgarner is going anywhere.

“I don’t think the Giants are going to trade Bumgarner,” Kurkjian said. “He would make so much sense to so many teams: the Yankees, the Mets, the Brewers, the Braves, any team that needs a guy at the top of the rotation that can change the entire outlook of their rotation and make October look completely different, it’s Madison Bumgarner. But if the Giants are interested in winning this year or winning in the next couple years then they have to keep him.

“He and Buster Posey of course are their best players and they need to hang onto their best players if they’re have any chance to win in what is still a wide open National League. I think maybe the right thing to do down the line would be to trade him, but since they’ve gotten to this point and are still insisting ‘we’re going to win now,’ then you can’t trade your ace pitcher.”

If Bumgarner is off the table, how can the Giants position themselves to improve in 2019?

“Well they’re going to have to spend some money here, they’re going to have to do something bold and Bryce Harper obviously would be someone bold that they could bring in. I’m not saying he’s going there, I’m just saying this is wide open with Harper with several teams and I’m guessing for the moment he’s going to end up with the Phillies.

“But there are so many different ways this could work and if the Giants want to make the playoffs in 2019, they’re going to have to sign an outfielder such as Harper that can hit in the middle of the order, and take this stagnant offense and raise it, and then they’re going to have to work on some other things to make the playoffs.”

Listen to the full interview below.