The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to a five-year, $85 million contract with Madison Bumgarner. The Diamondbacks have picked up perhaps the third largest name on the free-agent market for starting pitchers. The news was broken by ESPN’s Jeff Passan, and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic immediately reported the financials. The contract includes $15 million, which will be deferred as a part of his contract.
BREAKING: Left-hander Madison Bumgarner and the Arizona Diamondbacks are nearing a five-year deal, sources familiar with the agreement tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 15, 2019
Bumgarner to #Dbacks, five years, $85M, $15M deferred, sources tell The Athletic. First with agreement: @JeffPassan.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 15, 2019
Bumgarner has spent the last eleven years with the San Francisco Giants but has since moved on to the Diamondbacks. In 2019, Bumgarner started thirty-four games with a 9-9 record, a 3.90 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, and 203 punchouts over 207.2 innings of work for the Giants. The Giants have lost one of their last remaining players from their World Championship group.
The Diamondbacks have beefed up their starting rotation, just like many teams have done this offseason with a plethora of good starting pitchers available in free agency. Bumgarner will be the ace in a rotation that features Mike Leake, Robbie Ray, Merrill Kelly, and Luke Weaver. In 2019 the Diamondbacks were 85-77, coming in second place in the National League West division. With the Dodgers taking the divisional win and most likely going to compete for the division again in 2020, the Diamondbacks will be competing for a Wildcard spot.
