MLB Free Agents: Top 3 contenders in need of Madison Bumgarner
By Ben Fadden
Madison Bumgarner is one of the best MLB free agents with a lot of postseason experience. Here are three teams that need his services.
Madison Bumgarner is not the ace that he used to be and everyone including him knows that. But he is still a very good and consistent starter that could slide right into the #2 or #3 spot in the rotation of a contending team.
He would fit into a mentorship role with teams that likely have a lot of young starting pitching, who haven’t really had a lot of experience in the playoffs. But Bumgarner, on the other hand, is the exact opposite.
As you know, Bumgarner won three World Series titles in 2010, 2012, and 2014 and was most notably made famous in the 2014 World Series when he closed out Game 7 against the Royals with five innings of relief.
Teams who even have starting pitching could add the veteran lefty because he has shown that he can start games and pitch out of the bullpen in October.
Showing the ability to do those two things could make teams like the Houston Astros or the New York Yankees want to take a look at him, especially when it seems likely they will be without Gerrit Cole on Opening Day in 2020.
Madison Bumgarner is still going to have a very good market despite the very deep starting pitching market this winter that includes the likes of Gerrit Cole, Stephen Strasburg, Zack Wheeler, and Rick Porcello.
Bumgarner has something that those pitchers don’t have: a switch that turns on in the postseason when games matter the most, you know he will step up.
So, without further ado here are the top three contenders in need of Bumgarner’s services from #3 to #1.