© Rick Scuteri | 2019 Mar 17
The Giants didn’t re-sign Madison Bumgarner and Shawn Estes can’t figure out why.
The former Giants pitcher, Estes that is, explained his confusion on KNBR Monday afternoon, just a day after Bumgarner signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks for a below market five-year, $85 million deal. The Giants reportedly offered Bum a deal in the four-year, $70 million range.
“I have a tough time with it, only because I’ve been watching this guy pitch for the last 10 years and yeah I’m a little biased because I’ve covered the Giants, but if I’m an ex-teammate with a chance to be on this Giants roster next year I’m extremely disappointed right now,” Estes said. “And if I’m a player who’s had significant time with Bumgarner as a teammate I’m more than disappointed, I’m ticked off. Especially after seeing the numbers of this deal.
“We couldn’t afford $15 mil a year? That’s a $3 million raise, he was making $12 million the last couple years. This is a guy, aside from a bad decision he made on a dirt bike and a fluke line drive off his hand where he missed some time, who we saw consistently take the ball every fifth day, you expected the team to win when he was on the bump regardless of how big or small the game was, and as a matter of fact, the bigger the game, the more confidence you had in him to win the game.”
According to Spotrac, Bumgarner’s market value was a deal in the $21 million per year range, with a projection the 30-year-old left-hander would receive a five-year offer to the tune of $105 million. Ultimately, the Giants weren’t close to that.
“I can’t wrap my head around it, I really can’t. I just feel like that’s a guy you’ve got to keep in your rotation, especially at that price. I figured he’d go out and sign for over $100 million. He probably could’ve done that with another team, maybe the Angels, but he really did want to play in the National League, be in the lineup every fifth day, and now he gets to play in his new home and that’s Arizona.
“So the Diamondbacks got a gem in Madison Bumgarner and I still think he’s got a lot left in the tank.”