Cardinals Have Reportedly Entered Fray for Madison Bumgarner
By Michael Luciano
The San Francisco Giants will have a hard time keeping longtime ace Madison Bumgarner at Oracle Park as free agency is well under way. If money turns MadBum's head elsewhere, it looks like St. Louis could be a potential landing spot.
The Cardinals have thrown their hat in the Bumgarner sweepstakes, according to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand.
Is another NL Central team about to enter the MadBum fray? The latest on the Bumgarner market: https://t.co/XY1efgon7g
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) December 5, 2019
The Phillies and Braves were rumored to be hot after the soft-tossing lefty, but the signings of Zack Wheeler and Cole Hamels might price them out of Bumgarner.
Bumgarner is only 30 years old, and proved he can still be an effective starter even without top-shelf velocity last season. With a 3.09 ERA and 203 strikeouts in 207 innings, Bumgarner was one of the few bright spots on a lackluster Giants team.
It's been a while since Bumgarner could officially be classed as an elite starting pitcher, but that won't stop him from earning a nine-figure deal this offseason.
As free agency dominoes fall, Madison Bumgarner is now expected to fetch at least $100 million, too. https://t.co/Uc8wNE6xBR
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 4, 2019
If San Francisco can't pool together the money to keep their ace, perhaps he'll swap the Bay for the Gateway Arch and hook up with a Cardinals team looking to do some damage in the playoffs.