Madison Bumgarner to the New York Yankees?

No, the longtime member of the San Francisco Giants rotation is not on the block. As far as anyone knows, the Giants are not actively trying to trade Madison Bumgarner, and the Yankees have not asked if he is available. But ESPN’s Buster Olney recently threw out a scenario that suggested that the Giants would be smart to get what they could for him.

While Giants fans may hate to see their best pitcher go, they could command a king’s ransom for the 28-year old ace. Olney spoke with an evaluator for another team who suggested the Giants could easily command four quality prospects for him (ESPN):

"Maybe two top-tier guys and two second-tier guys," said the evaluator. "I mean, if any team traded for Bumgarner, it would be [a move] to win the World Series."

Making a move for a pitcher like Bumgarner would certainly be a World Series-caliber move. A similar deal panned out for the Houston Astros last season when they acquired Justin Verlander. However, it didn’t work out for the Dodgers (who acquired Yu Darvish).

But whoever would be bold enough to acquire Bumgarner would be getting one of the most reliable postseason pitchers in recent history. He has a career ERA of 3.01 in over 1500 innings of work. But in the postseason, he is even better. In over 100 innings of playoff work (16 appearances), he has an ERA of 2.11.

If that doesn’t sell you on him, he knows what it takes to win a World Series. He was an integral part of San Francisco’s run a few years back (three World Series wins; 2010, ’12, and ’14).

Still not sold? He’s only making about $12 million this season, and the team has an option for next season at $12 million. He doesn’t have a no-trade clause, so you don’t have to worry about him killing the deal.

Oh—and at his age, he’s easily got a good five, six, or seven years left in him at least.

Clearly, he is a talent to behold and one that could help a team make the World Series and win it. But it will take quite a bit to pry him away from San Francisco. Would the Yankees make a move? They have the farm pieces to trade. But are they willing to part with them?

Do they think they need to?

After getting so close to making it back to the World Series last season, the Yankees could lean one of two ways. They could think that since they were so close last season, they should play out the year and see what happens. Or they could recognize that their lineup may not do as much damage as they hoped it would. If they are going to win, they better add a quality arm to the rotation.

If anything is going to happen, it is not going to happen for a while. Bumgarner only recently started to throw after suffering a fracture in his pitching hand during spring training. But once he is healthy, if the Giants are in the tank, don’t be surprised to see them make a move.

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