The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Madison Bumgarner let go by D-backs with $34 million left on contract

“I obviously am trying to do better, putting in the work, it just hasn’t shown up yet,” Madison Bumgarner said after getting lit up by the Cardinals Wednesday. (Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
Listen
4 min

A day after getting quickly pulled by the Diamondbacks from a rough start, Madison Bumgarner was pushed out of Arizona altogether.

The struggling veteran was designated for assignment on Thursday, ending a stint of three-plus years with the Diamondbacks that never went the way either side would have hoped after he signed a five-year, $85 million contract in 2020.

Having officially removed the 33-year-old Bumgarner from its 40-man roster, Arizona now has seven days to trade him or, if it does not find a taker, place him on outright waivers.

Bumgarner still has approximately $34.4 million left on his contract, making it unlikely he will be claimed off waivers. The Diamondbacks are thus effectively eating that amount to part ways with him. After he clears waivers, the former postseason hero for the San Francisco Giants could be signed by another team for a prorated portion of $720,000, the major league minimum.

Bumgarner’s 2023 ERA sits at 10.26 following a three-inning outing Wednesday in which he gave up seven earned runs in a 14-5 road loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

“Just not very good,” Bumgarner said after the game. “Haven’t been very good. It’s frustrating. I obviously am trying to do better, putting in the work, it just hasn’t shown up yet.”

“The empathetic side of me hurts for him,” Arizona Manager Torey Lovullo said, “and I want every pitcher to do well, and I know how hard he’s working. He’s just grinding.

“Then the other side of me is extremely frustrated. I just want to see everybody do well to help us win baseball games, and of course that didn’t happen today.”

Over his three-plus seasons with the Diamondbacks, Bumgarner accumulated an ERA of 5.23 after notching a total mark of 3.13 over 11 seasons with the Giants, including 3.90 in a league-leading 34 starts in 2019. He went 15-32 in Arizona, compared to 119-92 with San Francisco, where he also earned four all-star selections and 2014 World Series and National League Championship Series MVP honors.

Since MLB debuted its ball-tracking metrics platform Statcast in 2015, Bumgarner’s fastball velocity has hovered around 90 mph, but his spin rates have plummeted while his percentage of hard-hit balls has steadily climbed. His strikeout rate has also dropped, and at 11.1 percent this season (compared to 27.5 in 2016), he ranks in the bottom four percent of the league.

Earlier this month, Bumgarner had an MRI exam after feeling fatigue in the wake of his first start of the season, a four-inning outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers, a loss in which he allowed five earned runs. He didn’t miss a start but continued to struggle, leading to a decision Thursday by the Diamondbacks that amounted to an admission they had made a very expensive mistake.

In an appearance on an Arizona sports-radio station earlier Thursday, Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall said that “salary will never come into play and prevent us from making decisions that would improve our roster, improve our chances to win.”

Asked at the time if Bumgarner might get moved to the bullpen, Hall replied, “Everything is on the table. I’ve been really consistent, we’ve been consistent, in letting our baseball ops know we’re never going make a decision based on what a guy gets paid.”

“We have pitchers who do need to become a part of this 26-man roster soon,” Hall added, “because they’re proving that they’re ready for that next move.”

Heading into a home tilt Thursday evening against the San Diego Padres, Arizona was 1-3 in Bumgarner’s four starts and 10-5 in its other games. In addition to its ineffective brevity, his start Wednesday was marked by a shouting match with Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras during a plate appearance that ended with Contreras flipping his bat after drawing a walk.

Asked after Wednesday’s game what Contreras did to irk him, Bumgarner replied, “If you can’t see it, I don’t know how to help. If I pitch better, I might give you something, but I gotta pitch better. … I wish I had some kind of answer.”

Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen said Thursday that Tommy Henry, a 25-year-old left-hander who made nine starts last season with a 5.36 ERA, will take Bumgarner’s place in the rotation.

Loading...