Madison Bumgarner agrees to 5-year deal with Diamondbacks
Dec 17, 2019, 1:40 PM | Updated: 1:40 pm
In this Sept. 9,2019, file photo, San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner throws against a Pittsburgh Pirates' batter in the second inning of a baseball game in San Francisco. (AP Photo/John Hefti, File)
(AP Photo/John Hefti, File)
There’s a new face coming to the Arizona Diamondbacks’ rotation.
The team officially announced on Tuesday that the Diamondbacks signed left-handed pitcher Madison Bumgarner on a five-year contract that will take him through the 2024 season. He was to be formally introduced in a press conference on Tuesday at Chase Field.
MLB Network Insider and ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the signing. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal said the deal is worth $85 million with $15 million deferred.
The 30-year-old had a 3.90 ERA in 2019, pitching 207.2 innings with a 1.127 WHIP. He had a very solid 4.72 strikeout-to-walk ratio, averaging 1.9 walks per nine innings to go with 203 strikeouts on the season.
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Bumgarner is a four-time All-Star and three-time World Series champion who has spent the entirety of his career with San Francisco up to this point. That means he’s faced the Diamondbacks quite a bit; he owns a career 3.13 ERA in 19 starts at Chase Field.
The longtime Giants ace also isn’t a bad hitter; Bumgarner owns a career .532 OPS with 19 home runs and 62 RBIs in 679 plate appearances. In 2019, he hit only .127 but had two homers and nine walks.
The signing of Bumgarner bolsters a D-backs rotation that lost Zack Greinke to the Houston Astros via a trade. Pitchers like Robbie Ray, Luke Weaver, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Mike Leake, Alex Young, Jon Duplantier and Taylor Clarke are among those who could eat innings as a starter, but an ace like Bumgarner will help the top of the rotation.
