© Kelley L Cox | 2019 Jul 18
Madison Bumgarner’s trade value might have reached it’s apex after the big lefty tossed a nine-inning gem in the Giants’ wild 16-inning win on Thursday. The win was also the Giants’ sixth in a row and 13th in their last 15 games. With the team just 2.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot, making the playoffs actually seems like it could be in the realm of possibility.
Was last night a tipping point for new VP of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi? According to veteran MLB reporter Jon Heyman the answer might be yes. Heyman reported on Friday morning that one MLB executive has already sensed the Giants have pulled back on Bumgarner trade talks just hours after the victory.
MadBum raised his trade value with huge performance last night. But the question now is whether he’ll be traded at all. One interested exec says he’d already sensed the Giants had “pulled back” in talks. Interesting call now: gutty team that’s hot vs. huge trade commodity
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 19, 2019
What this means for the Giants’ other trade chips is anybody’s guess. Closer Will Smith, considered by some to be even more valuable, got out of a two on, no-out jam in the 10th inning Thursday, ending the inning with an impressive strikeout of Jeff McNeil. Interestingly, both Sam Dyson and Mark Melancon were held out of the game.
Earlier this week Jeff Passan said that the Giants would trade both Bumgarner and Smith no matter what happens. Is it possible last night changed that? We’ll just have to wait and see.
