SAN FRANCISCO -- Madison Bumgarner's future with the Giants is like all other pressing issues facing the team: It's on hold until the club hires its new general manager.
When that will happen remains uncertain. Some insiders sense the Giants might not name their new baseball operations czar until shortly before Thanksgiving.
Bumgarner's in no rush, since the potential scenarios involving him might develop slowly anyway.
Possibilities revolve around the following options: Keeping Bumgarner at all costs or trading the pitching staff's ace to acquire a proven hitter or multiple Minor League prospects.
If Bumgarner stays:
• It will mean the new GM has decided to maintain the club's perennial win-now approach.
• It will be expensive. As a four-time All-Star and hero of the 2014 postseason, Bumgarner can reasonably expect to command a deal approximating the three-year, $93 million accord that Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers reached on Friday.
• Yet it might be affordable. The Giants could tear up Bumgarner's $12 million contract for 2019, use some or all of the savings derived from outfielder Hunter Pence's $18.5 million coming off the books and throw in a few million more bucks for this year. The result would be a "front-loaded" contract that would include a signing bonus or a higher salary for Bumgarner this year than in others.
• However, the Giants might have to consider trying to jettison another highly paid starter -- either Jeff Samardzija ($19.8 million per year through 2020) or Johnny Cueto ($21 million annually through 2021) -- to create payroll flexibility while accommodating Bumgarner.
• It would mean that Bumgarner followed the example of Player Page for Matt Cain in 2013 and signed a contract extension with the Giants before the start of the regular season. Agreeing on a contract during the season isn't unprecedented, but it is rare.
If Bumgarner goes:
• It will indicate management is focusing more on rebuilding than competing for a postseason berth.
• It will have required a critical decision by the new GM, since timing is everything. If the Giants decide to trade Bumgarner, they must determine when they can derive maximum value from a swap: this offseason, when adding Bumgarner could transform a promising team into a World Series contender, or approaching the non-waiver Trade Deadline, when contenders often feel a greater sense of urgency to fill roster needs.
• It could stun the ballclub. Bumgarner is as much of a team leader as a player who performs only every five days can be.
Two other scenarios involve Bumgarner spending the entire season with San Francisco. He then would become a free agent and, obviously enough, would re-sign with the club or jump to another team. But it's unlikely the Giants would remain idle all season to risk losing Bumgarner in free agency and receiving only compensation in the MLB Draft in return.