It seems that the majority of Dodger fans got their wish. On Sunday, free agent pitcher Madison Bumgarner and the Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to a 5 year, $85M contract.
Bumgarner to #Dbacks, five years, $85M, $15M deferred, sources tell The Athletic. First with agreement: @JeffPassan.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 15, 2019
With his deal came the end of the short “Madison Bumgarner and the Dodgers are interested” headlines. While just this week Clayton Kershaw welcomed the opportunity to pitch alongside the long-time Giants ace, instead he’ll remain a division rival where he’ll be welcome to “go get it out of the pool” for Max Muncy.
Joking aside, the deal marks something of another small miss for Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. After losing out on the Gerrit Cole sweepstakes, and Dodger Stadium was deemed too Hollywood for Anthony Rendon, today another LA target was traded to not the Dodgers just adding to the perception of a failed off-season.
Undoubtedly Friedman has irons in the fire when it comes to his next move. After adding Blake Treinen on a one-year deal, the Dodgers are in a position where they could stand pat on personnel and still likely be favorites in the National League. However — as has been discussed ad nauseam — this was supposed to be the winter where big moves got done.
