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It has been all but cemented that Madison Bumgarner will be traded by this year’s deadline. According to Alex Pavlovic, the Giants “fully intend” to move Bumgarner before the deadline, with the Giants in rebuild mode and the longtime ace now in the final year of his deal.
Plenty of potential trade names have been bandied about, but one particularly interesting one postulated by Tim Kurkjian, is the New York Yankees’ outfielder Clint Frazier. Frazier, batting .283 with 11 home runs and 34 RBIs this season, would immediately be the Giants’ best bat in the lineup, as well as one of the youngest, at age 24, with an additional four years left of team control following this one.
Yet, with the acquisition of Edwin Encarnacion from the Seattle Mariners, Frazier was a casualty of numbers, and was sent back to Triple-A. With the Yankees a strong playoff contender and in need of starting pitching, the trade marriage of Bumgarner for Frazier seemed apt.
But according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, that may not be in line with the Yankees’ plans, largely due to the control they have over Frazier, as opposed to the potential half-year and playoff rental they’d be acquiring in Bumgarner.
“His trade value might not be as an ace,” Rosenthal said. “It might be more as a mid-rotation pitcher. At this point, the Yankees plan to trade outfielder Clint Frazier only for a starting pitcher with multiple years of control. They do not intend to give up four more years of Frazier for a rental such as Madison Bumgarner or for one-plus years that they would get with Marcus Stroman or Trevor Bauer. The Yankees always viewed 2019 as a development year for Frazier, and they promoted him only due to necessity. They still see him, potentially, as their left fielder next season.”
Of course, the Yankees are on the list of eight teams that Bumgarner put on his no-trade list this season, all of whom were contenders. Bumgarner can approve a trade to the Yankees, but traditionally players waiving their no-trade clause desire a form of compensation.
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