The San Francisco Giants are 17-24, in last place in the NL West, and club president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi is preparing for a complete rebuild that could start in earnest with the trade of his most valuable asset — left-handed ace Madison Bumgarner.



My colleague Ken Rosenthal reported last week that Bumgarner has a no-trade clause to eight contending teams: the Yankees, Red Sox, Astros, Braves, Phillies, Cubs, Brewers and Cardinals. Of course, that doesn’t mean he still can’t be traded to any of those teams — it just means a trade to any of those clubs has to be pre-approved by Bumgarner. He could decide to just accept the assignment or, more likely, demand a seven-figure assignment bonus. He could even ask for a long-term contract extension, in the event that he gets traded to a team he desires.



What’s even more interesting about his no-trade clause are the contending teams that are not on his list, the ones the Giants can...