© Mark J. Rebilas | 2019 Dec 17
Madison Bumgarner elected to sign with the Diamondbacks but at least the Giants tried to re-sign him. Right?
That might not totally be the case according to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic, who said on KNBR Tuesday that he believes the four-year, $70ish million the Giants reportedly offered the big lefty is one they knew he would refuse.
“It really felt like the Giants offered the most they could possibly offer, knowing (Bumgarner) wouldn’t take it,” Baggarly said. “To me it reminded me exactly of Pablo Sandoval in 2014. ‘Oh we made our best offer but he was going.’
“From a PR standpoint the Giants had to make an offer. They couldn’t just say ‘Okay it’s been fun Madison.’ I think they had to make an effort, it may have been an empty effort, but I think the thought was the Giants were going to offer the most they could, knowing that he wasn’t going to take it, and then they can justify that however they want.”
Ultimately, Bumgarner signed for five-years and $85 million with Arizona, but Baggs isn’t convinced this is what that’s all about.
“This was not about money per say, this was about getting that fifth year, and I think Arizona saw something in Madison, realizing that there is some more that he brings to the table other than the way the metrics value him and they liked his leadership and they think he’s going to be a real boon to that staff.
“I think the Giants probably should’ve known all of those qualities better than anybody, but this is a new front office that values things a little bit differently. I don’t know if the Giants could’ve matched that deal and Madison’s back, because I also think he had one foot out the door.
“Madison liked being a Giant but he wasn’t desperate to come back. The Giants, like Madison, they weren’t desperate to re-sign him. When you don’t have that sense of urgency on either part, it’s kind of easy to see the way this is going to go.”
Listen to the full interview below.