Undeniably, the one thing that certain in baseball is the unpredictable. Therefore, I shouldn’t say this is a post I never thought I would be writing.
Right now in a turn of events never thought possible, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Madison Bumgarner have a ‘mutual interest’ in one another. Indeed, this report comes from Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area.
Nightmare.
Madison Bumgarner and the Dodgers have "mutual interest" in free agency, sources have told @PavlovicNBCS https://t.co/dzAu5fAmJa pic.twitter.com/dFkBMMmlb0
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) December 13, 2019
Moreover, the key snippet in the report comes to Pavlovic from ‘sources’:
There is mutual interest between Madison Bumgarner and the Dodgers, sources told NBC Sports Bay Area this week, and the Dodgers met with Bumgarner’s representatives at the MLB Winter Meetings. It’s unclear if the Dodgers will satisfy the Giants ace’s salary desires, but Bumgarner and Hyun-Jin Ryu are the top options left on the pitching market after a shockingly active week in San Diego, and LA would like to add to its rotation.
Then, there is emphasis that this is not simply a ploy of any type by the Dodgers. Without question Pavolic states that the interest in Bumgarner is genuine.
Giants officials downplayed those concerns this week, repeatedly noting that they will build back up the right way and not be swayed by emotion. There was some skepticism about the Dodgers’ true intentions, but sources say the interest is real, and that could put the Giants in a tough spot.
Remember, the Dodgers lost out on Gerrit Cole and then immediately shifted focus to Bumgarner. Already, Ken Rosenthal has spoken towards the Dodgers’ finding that Bumgarner’s spin rate was the biggest increase in baseball in 2019. Obviously, Rosenthal weighing in on the notion adds a degree of levity to the entire report.
Right now – this is no longer a rumor – but an ongoing topic. Should the Dodgers decide to add Bumgarner, will you accept him as one of your own in blue? And can he help the Dodgers get over the hump?
