{"id":27505,"date":"2019-12-20T16:23:29","date_gmt":"2019-12-20T21:23:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonbaseball.com\/?p=27505"},"modified":"2024-12-28T10:36:35","modified_gmt":"2024-12-28T15:36:35","slug":"madison-bumgarner-arizona-diamondbacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2019\/12\/20\/madison-bumgarner-arizona-diamondbacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Madison Bumgarner and the Arizona Diamondbacks: Why It Happened, How It Happened, and What It Means"},"content":{"rendered":"

Madison Bumgarner Signs with the Arizona Diamondbacks<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When the news broke Sunday night that Madison Bumgarner<\/a><\/strong> had signed a five-year deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks<\/a> worth $85 million, it surprised most of the baseball world. There had been little to no indication at all that the Diamondbacks were even interested in pursuing Bumgarner. The team\u2019s biggest remaining needs were in right field and either second base or center field, depending on where Ketel Marte<\/a><\/strong> plays. There was even talk of trading left-handed starting pitcher Robbie Ray<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Madison
A screenshot of the fan report on Madison Bumgarner that came three days before the Diamondbacks announced his signing. (Screenshot taken Dec 20th and used with permission of the original poster)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rumors emerged that the Diamondbacks were close to signing Madison Bumgarner. One person, Wyatt Fernandez, said in an Arizona Diamondbacks Fan Group on Facebook that Bumgarner told him that he wanted to play the rest of his career in Arizona. Most fans believed him, but several either mocked him or called him a liar, even though it would have been utterly ridiculous for Fernandez to make it up.<\/p>\n

Why It Happened<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Madison Bumgarner Loves It in Arizona<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the introductory press conference Tuesday afternoon, Bumgarner said, \u201cI love the Phoenix area. It\u2019s like a second home to me.\u201d He later elaborated, \u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful place. A ton of people want to come here and move to this area. For me, it just feels like where I\u2019m supposed to be. I\u2019ve got a lot of friends out here now, over the years. I know a lot of people, so it truly is a second home to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some rumors had sprung up over the weekend that Bumgarner already has a place in the Phoenix area and keeps his horses there. Later, he dispelled those rumors while talking to a handful of reporters. \u201cNo, I don\u2019t actually own a place out here. We\u2019d just rent for Spring Training and stuff. But most years, we\u2019d bring some (horses) out.\u201d While here, he would rent a ranch-type place. \u201cIt\u2019s not that hard to find places like that out here \u2013 there\u2019s a lot of them. We brought our dogs with us and brought some horses with us, too. Basically, we picked up the small part of our home in North Carolina and then brought it out here.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, he and his wife are definitely interested in buying a home in the Valley of the Sun. \u201cI\u2019ve always been interested in owning a place here, so we\u2019re gonna take that pretty seriously and try to find it as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Madison Bumgarner Is a Good Fit for the Diamondbacks<\/strong><\/h4>\n

General manager Mike Hazen said that Bumgarner was \u201cwhat we felt like we needed at the top of the rotation\u201d because of \u201chis leadership, (and) certainly his track record.\u201d He later added that \u201cwe have a young rotation that, as it grows, is going to need a role model whom they\u2019re going to look towards.\u201d Two off-season additions to the Diamondbacks \u2013 pitching coach Matt Herges<\/a><\/strong> and catcher Stephen Vogt<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 were with Bumgarner in San Francisco last season as a bullpen coach and catcher, respectively. Hazen said that the two of them said that \u201che\u2019s one of the toughest competitors that they\u2019ve ever played with or coached. That means a lot to us. I think it\u2019s something that our starting pitchers are going to definitely benefit from.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking of Herges and Vogt \u2013 Bumgarner is \u201cexcited to have those guys here. (Matt) Herges is awesome, and (Stephen) Vogt\u2019s awesome. Vogt\u2019s one of the best teammates that I\u2019ve had, just being with him for a year, and I think that Herges is gonna be a really, really good pitching coach.\u201d However, their arrivals in Arizona were merely an added bonus to Bumgarner. They did not have an effect on his decision, \u201cbecause I knew this was (where) I wanted to be before those decisions were made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Madison Bumgarner Wanted to Play for the Diamondbacks<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Bumgarner also signed because he liked several traits of the team. For one, he likes the way they play. They are \u201ca team that \u2026 plays my brand of baseball \u2013 plays the way that I like to play. I\u2019m gonna say does it the right way.\u201d He later elaborated, \u201cThey play hard. \u2026They\u2019ve got a bunch of grinders on the team \u2013 guys that don\u2019t take any pitch off. They\u2019re a hard-nosed group of guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also felt they could win. \u201c\u2026they\u2019ve got a really good team (with) a lot of young guys coming up, so I think they\u2019re definitely heading in a really good direction. \u2026I\u2019ve played against this organization for my whole career and see the direction they\u2019re going and the guys that they have here. Not only that, the guys that they have coming through the system, so it\u2019s dang sure exciting to see. I can\u2019t wait to get started and be a part of it and see where we can go. I know where we can go. I just want to help us get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

How Madison Bumgarner Could Go to Arizona<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Diamondbacks came into the off-season with about $30 million in payroll space. $5 million went to the combination of Vogt and relief pitcher Junior Guerra<\/a><\/strong>. They need a right fielder and whatever position Ketel Marte ends up not playing, either center field or second base. If they were going to sign Bumgarner, they needed to be creative, and Bumgarner\u2019s camp needed to be flexible. The deal announced Sunday night was five years, $85 million, with $15 million of that deferred. That worked out to an average of $14 million per year, meaning that the Diamondbacks would have $11 million left to work with.<\/p>\n

However, that wasn\u2019t the structure of the contract. They back-loaded it.<\/p>\n

\n

The deferred money is all without interest. https:\/\/t.co\/ecPWYCk8cD<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 17, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n