It was a foregone conclusion that Madison Bumgarner would be pitching for the San Francisco Giants in 2018.
All the club needed to do was exercise his 2018 team option.
As for Pablo Sandoval? His future in San Francisco was in doubt. But on Monday morning, Giants’ general manager Bobby Evans confirmed that the franchise had exercised options on both Bumgarner and Sandoval, as Evans said that both players will be with the club this spring.
The 28-year-old Bumgarner is the ace of a staff that the Giants consider their “bread and butter,” and he’ll make $12 million pitching in San Francisco next season. The southpaw originally signed a five-year, $35 million deal with San Francisco ahead of the 2013 season, and though the guaranteed money on his contract ran out at the end of the 2017 campaign, the contract included a pair of club options for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. The 2019 option would also require San Francisco to pay Bumgarner $12 million, which is well below market value for an ace, but it’s possible the Giants will look to negotiate another long-term contract extension.
Sandoval is a potential option to fill the Giants’ glaring void at third base, and after being designated for assignment by the Boston Red Sox in July, the Giants will pay Sandoval the Major League minimum if he’s on the Opening Day roster in 2018.
While Bumgarner is expected to start on Opening Day for San Francisco, Evans and Vice President of Baseball Operations Brian Sabean indicated that Sandoval earned the opportunity to try out this spring for a role as a reserve player in the Giants’ infield. The 31-year-old Sandoval spent the final two months of the season as the Giants’ starting third baseman, but Sabean said that finding a more productive, “more prototypical” third baseman is among the Giants’ chief priorities this offseason.
Evans also confirmed that the Giants have officially picked up the $9 million team option to bring back left-handed pitcher Matt Moore on Monday, even though Evans announced that Moore would return late in the 2017 season.