© Jerry Lai | 2018 Oct 19
If the Giants elect to trade Madison Bumgarner this offseason, the Milwaukee Brewers will reportedly be the most likely trade partner. As of Tuesday afternoon, we have an idea of what San Francisco might want in return.
New VP of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi is targeting one of the Brewers young pitchers — Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff or Freddy Peralta — to be included in a potential package for the big left hander’s services, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network. All three right-handed pitchers are under 26 years old and have limited major league experience.
Source: In initial Madison Bumgarner trade talks with #Brewers, #SFGiants indicated that a young starting pitcher — Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff or Freddy Peralta — would need to be part of offer for deal to occur. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 8, 2019
Burnes, 24, was lights out in 30 relief appearances with the Brewers last season going 7-0 with a 2.61 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He also struck out 35 batters in 38 innings and owned a 9.1-strikeouts-per-nine innings rate in the minors. A fourth-round pick out of St. Mary’s in 2016, Burnes was ranked as the 69th best prospect in baseball by MLB.com heading into 2018.
Woodruff, 25, has spent the most time in the major leagues of the three, bouncing back and forth from the minors and majors in both 2017 and 2018. He’s gone 5-3 with a 4.22 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP in 27 big league appearances, including 12 starts. He was ranked as the 61st best prospect in MLB by Baseball America heading into 2018.
Peralta, 22, went 6-4 with a 4.25 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 16 appearances –14 starts — for the Brewers in 2018. The 22-year-old struck out 96 batters in 78.1 innings last season. Peralta is a native of the Dominican Republic
It was originally thought that the Giants were interested in trading with the Brewers due to their minor-league depth in the outfield. Three of Milwaukee’s top six prospects — No. 2 Corey Ray, No. 5 Tristen Lutz and No. 6 Joe Gray — are outfielders. San Francisco currently has just one everyday outfielder — projected starting centerfielder Steven Duggar — on their roster.
It’s possible the Giants would rather wait until closer to the trade deadline to move Bumgarner, when teams may be willing to offer more for his services, in the hopes of making a postseason push. That strategy is not without risk for the Giants, who would need a productive, injury free first half to ensure there is a competitive market for their ace.
Bumgarner is in the the final season of a contract scheduled to pay him $12 million next year. Bumgarner went 6-7 with a 3.26 ERA and 1.24 WHIP last season.