Madison Bumgarner Was Reportedly Nationals' Plan B if They Missed Out on Stephen Strasburg
By Adam Weinrib
No matter which direction the offseason winds chose to blow, the Nationals were clearly not going to be denied in their quest for toughness.
Madison Bumgarner signed a deal in his preferred location on Sunday when he picked Arizona (who knew?). But, if Stephen Strasburg had priced himself out of Washington, or simply preferred another destination, it seems the team would've gone hard after MadBum to fill the vacancy.
Two notes on Madison Bumgarner: 1) Per sources, he was the #Nationals’ Plan B if they had not re-signed Stephen Strasburg. 2) A California-based team would have needed to offer him $100M to match the net after tax of $85M from the #Dbacks (h/t @SportsTaxMan).
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 16, 2019
So, yes. Bumgarner and Scherzer going full wild man every five days in an attempt to assert dominance over one another really could've gone down.
But, we were robbed of such fantasies by Strasburg's then-record $245 million deal, the exact contract the team felt unfit to offer Anthony Rendon.
Despite the retention of Strasburg, Washington's shopping isn't done, and a big-time third baseman remains their core focus.
Nationals will jump into the Josh Donaldson Sweepstakes now. But so will the Braves and Rangers. Could wind up with something in the range of 4 years, $100 million.
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) December 12, 2019
If Donaldson arrives, that's another wild character for a clubhouse already packed full of 'em. But, Bumgarner in our Nation's Capital would've been next-level.