SAN FRANCISCO -- It certainly felt like goodbye when Madison Bumgarner tipped his helmet to the Oracle Park crowd before stepping in to face Clayton Kershaw in the Giants’ regular-season finale on Sept. 29. On Sunday, it (reportedly) became official.
Bumgarner’s tenure with the Giants came to an end after the 30-year-old left-hander agreed to a five-year, $85 million deal with the D-backs, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. It felt like the end of an era in San Francisco, where Bumgarner developed into one of the best pitchers in franchise history and cemented his legacy in the postseason by willing the Giants to a third championship in the 2014 World Series.
Losing Bumgarner to a division rival is an emotional blow for the Giants, but the new regime led by president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi is operating with a view toward the future, not the past.
The departure of Bumgarner and All-Star closer Will Smith, who both declined qualifying offers to sign elsewhere this offseason, means the Giants will have four picks before the third round of the 2020 MLB Draft next June.
Bumgarner led the Giants with 207 2/3 innings in 2019, and it will be difficult for the Giants to replace the durability and competitiveness he brought to the mound every fifth day.
Veterans Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija are slated to return, but Cueto will be entering his first full season back from Tommy John surgery and Samardzija might have pitched himself into a trade candidate after putting together an impressive bounce-back campaign in 2019. Samardzija is owed $19.8 million in the final season of the five-year, $90 million contract he signed in Dec. 2015 -- not an unreasonable sum in light of the nine-figure deals Gerrit Cole, Zack Wheeler and Stephen Strasburg commanded earlier this month.
The Giants have already made two moves aimed at bolstering their rotation this offseason, signing free-agent right-hander Kevin Gausman to a one-year, $9 million deal and claiming left-hander Tyler Anderson off waivers from the Rockies. Anderson, who is recovering from knee surgery, was non-tendered before agreeing to a one-year, $1.775 million contract with the Giants the following day. If he’s healthy, he could help balance out a rotation that seems heavily right-handed at the moment.
The Giants weren’t afraid to go young in their rotation in 2019, and they are poised to once again give Tyler Beede and Logan Webb plenty of opportunities next year. Still, the 23-year-old Webb will be on an innings limit in 2020, which could force the Giants to restrict his usage at the beginning of the season. Dereck Rodríguez, Andrew Suárez and Conner Menez could also be candidates fill out the Giants’ rotation or serve as swingmen.
Shaun Anderson is expected to be brought into Spring Training as a starter, though he might be a better fit in the bullpen and could be in the mix to close in 2020. Further down the road, the Giants could also get a look at their first look at Sean Hjelle, a 6-foot-11 right-hander who is ranked the club’s No. 6 prospect by MLB Pipeline. Hjelle, 22, finished the 2019 season at Double-A Richmond and posted a 3.32 ERA across three Minor League levels. If he follows a trajectory similar to Webb’s, he could be ready to contribute to the Giants’ rotation at some point next year.