Dodgers: Bruce Bochy Surprised Madison Bumgarner Did Not Sign with LA
The San Francisco Giants are experiencing a change of scenery and facing a new era for their franchise. They will not be in contention for quite some time and the departures of both Hall of Fame manager Bruce Bochy and postseason hero Madison Bumgarner signify the end of their reign for good. However, former Dodgers front office member Farhan Zaidi will look to get them back on track as their new general manager.
This offseason, there was a lot of banter regarding Madison Bumgarner and a potential signing with the Dodgers. It never seemed to be a likely outcome, but it was still an intriguing proposition. Would Bumgarner have fit in with the Dodgers culture after so many years of animosity between him and the Dodgers? We will never know. Bumgarner signed a deal with another NL West club, the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was rumored to be receiving a deal upwards of $100 million in value, but he ended up with Arizona on a five-year, $85 million deal.
In a recent interview with former Giants manager Bruce Bochy, the idea of Bumgarner to Los Angeles was discussed on MLB Network Radio. Apparently, Bochy is a bit surprised by where Bumgarner landed.
Bruce Bochy thought Madison Bumgarner could go to another NL West team… but not the #Dbacks#RattleOn | #SFGiants | #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/yTPqPiaCww
— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) December 19, 2019
Bochy on Bumgarner to the Snakes
Bochy spent a lot of time with Madison Bumgarner and described Bumgarner’s love for the state of Arizona and the area outside of Phoenix. He believes that is ultimately why he signed with the Diamondbacks instead of the Dodgers.
“He has always had an affinity for Arizona. I had never thought about it, but when I talked to him before this deal happened, he didn’t mention them. I thought the Dodgers would be the ones to go after him hard, but it worked out for him. It’s just different seeing him in that uniform.”
Overall
At the end of the day, the Dodgers avoided controversy and potentially a bullet. With AJ Pollock’s five-year deal shaping up to look like a poor one, the Dodgers simply couldn’t afford another five-year deal for a player on the downside of his career. Bumgarner belongs as the hated one — that is the story that was written and the script has not been finished.
Bum also mentioned brand of baseball that he likes to play for and that the Dbacks have. Possible he doesn’t feel like the Dodgers had that. He also said he left money on the table from other teams to sign with AZ. Can’t blame him, the Dodgers have a poor style of baseball being all or nothing swingers and sabremetric platoon darlings. Oh and a manager who has no clue how to use a pitching staff
Just resign Ryu. Give him $20M/yr if that’s what it takes. He’s better than Bumgarner, whose good, but clearly past his prime. Ryu has thrown far less pitches in his career, mostly due to past injuries and time off during his career. But he had no real injuries last year, threw more innings than ever, and almost won a Cy Young award. Ryu may be at his peak right now. So capitalize on it. If he is not signed, the Dodgers will have to aquire some other starter. Who’s available out there that’s better? They may end up with someone alot less capable for similar money.
Bum at 30 yrs old has thrown near 1,900 regular season innings at 30. Ryu at 32 has over 2,200 innings in his career including KBO. They are on par with each other. KBO is not Minor league baseball. It is big crowd, high pressure, professional baseball in Korea. Also pitched in World Baseball classic and other international competition. So he has actually thrown a lot of innings for his age at a high level. Ryu is a risk on more than 4 year contract. But I would take that risk on Ryu over Bum all day long.
Dodger106W…………Good post!
Nailed it NODH..He probably figures the Dbags have just as good of chance to win the World series as L.A . Probably when talks started, when Roberts and Friedman were blowing smoke about spending money and all, Madbum figured if they did land a Rendon, or Smith, Stras,,Cole types then he most definitely could have another shot at a Ring. Then as it was all a big bluff, he may have figured their plan out that they just announced that to lure some big names to come in at a bargain price! Car salesmen 101 strategy!
Exactly right on, NODH. I couldn’t agree more.
Now that the dust is settling, this giants fan is happy for Bum. His talent would have been wasted on a losing team for the remainder of his career. The giants will become the Dodgers and I dont find that interesting. But what a run it wa with Boch! The ws years were filled with fun, excitement, and inspiration that took our minds off the recession, etc. Thanks for an historic run that we’ll never forget! Best wishes to Madbum and the Dbacks and Boch and the French International.
Couldn’t think of a more deserving fanbase to become the Dodgers. Here’s to a new 56 year drought for you guys
Bum had a 5.29 ERA on the road. I’m glad the Dodgers stayed clear of him. The Dodgers won 106 games, have a nucleus that is both strong and youthful, and loses no one that can’t be replaced. It makes zero sense that some people are clamoring for major transactions. Just tweak the bullpen (Treinen is a fantastic start) and maybe add a righty bat to balance the lineup. Otherwise, let these players continue to win and grow together. Best of luck to Bum as he moves from a pitchers park to a hitters park. It’s almost time to print some “Get the Ball Out of the Pool” t-shirts.
i am guessing that the dodgers did not get him because they did not want to give him a 5 year contract wanted to give him a shorter one i think arizona gave him too many years
I’m overjoyed this prima donna nut case did not sign with the Dodgers. Every time things do not go his way he starts crap with the umps or the other teams players. I respect his ability, but I do not respect the way he behaves on the field towards others when things do not go well for HIM. If he ACTED like a professional, then he would be someone to respect. If he had joined the Dodgers, I would have had a really hard time with it.
bluz1st,
Bum’s nasty streak put three world series rings on his fingers. Maybe if Dodger Blue had a little more nasty they could stop squandering World Series opportunities and win one themselves.
I’ll bet Bochy is more surprised the Dodgers with all that money available, all those top 5 farm guys, wouldnt\ couldn’t land ” any” top league players to fill the 3 to 4 glaring weaknesses that they \ had—” have” . Then again after watching Roberts manage this team, maybe not so much!!!!!!!!
Ya got that right Kirk, and as I said as a result of the 2019 NLDS exit and Roberts himself, that the fans should completely boycott the 2020 Fan Fest at DS this coming January
I know I will Paul. These past few weeks of absolutely nothing done by these conmen, truly solidifies my boycott of their product. I’ve noticed the people that were here last season and were already skeptical about the mngt then, and in late Sep with Kenley still not right, Kelly out with weird ailment, all the rookies that were supposed to be Kirk Gibson and weren’t, along with Kersh always getting blasted in the 1 st inning, Belli cooled way down, Turner out resting injuries on and on, were clued in that this FO. Did not even try to address any of those problems. As you recall we were honest and called them out and were attacked by fans here and told to go root for other teams! Well I won’t root for any other baseball teams, but I will be attending Lakers games coming up. And even the final Rams game maybe! Those are 2 L.A. teams that are all in and they will be getting my utmost support and money. The Dodgers will not receive one more dime from this guy! I cuss at the T.V. every time I watch the Dodgers fail to bunt, hit and run,pitch out, sit hot hitters etc etc etc. I hate losing especially when a team beats itself, and they don’t even know how to win a one run game in the biggest moment because they don’t practice doing it throughout the season. Their manager knows how but won’t, which proves he is controlled by the progressives and I can’t respect that! Go Lakers!!!