Photo credit: @Covers

By: Amaury Pi-González

Will the San Francisco Giants trade Madison Bumgarner? Many Giants fans would give an answer like “Never, preposterous!” or something of that sort. But it’s understandable as they are fans and they would probably react with emotion to the glorious past of one of the most successful pitchers in the MLB postseason.

Though, the Giants are in a very interesting situation. Although, they are not far from first place in a very feeble NL West division where everybody–except the Giants and Padres– have occupied first place at one point in the 2018 season so far.

That being said, the clock is ticking. The trade deadline is on July 31st, just a couple of weeks after the MLB All-Star Game at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. Bumgarner could be the finishing touch to postseason regulars like the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and vice versa. Bumgarner could be that guy with the postseason experience to bring one of those teams a World Series title.

Remember what the Houston Astros did late last season? They picked up Justin Verlander at the end of the season and Verlander gave the Astros that extra push to win their first ever World Series. So there is a precedent for this, Bumgarner could be the next Verlander this October!

Let’s face it: This is a last go around for this Giants’ roster with guys like Bumgarner, Crawford, Posey, Pence, and Belt that have gone to the October Dance; but it doesn’t seem they have enough to make it this year.

To me, the Giants look like maybe another .500 club in a 2018 season where there are a handful of super teams like the Astros, Red Sox, Yankees, Nationals, and maybe Dodgers, but a majority of teams are currently stuck in mediocrity.

The NL West is not the best division in baseball and might not be this season. In life, timing is everything.

So what is the limit for the Giants on trading Bumgarner for some young players? That is the question. The Yankees are loaded with young talent and some of that young talent has developed faster than they have imagined. The Yankees could be the perfect trading partners with the Giants for a Bumgarner deal. The Yankees are in the American League East, so Bumgarner will not be able to face the Giants on a regular basis unless if there’s an unlikely situation where the Giants will meet the Yankees this October in the World Series.

Things can turn around very quickly in baseball and I am sure the Giants are hoping that their team will wake up soon and put out a good winning streak even if it is not 15 in a row. The Giants have played over half of the road games already, so they have plenty of games left at cozy AT&T Park. It seems they cannot catch a break, Brandon Belt has returned while Evan Longoria has left with a broken hand and is expected to miss six to eight weeks.

Pablo Sandoval is doing whatever he can, but he is not a regular anymore and most of his hits are batting left-handed. Gorkys Hernández has exceeded expectations, but he is not a regular. Samardzija and Cueto have been hurt this season. And, to be fair, when was the last time the Giants had their rotation together this season? Never.

Bumgarner made his first start two months and weeks into the season, Cueto will not be back until the MLB All-Star Break and Samardzija has not found his groove yet. Although personally I was never high on “The Shark,” who signed with the Giants in 2015 on a five-year contract for $90 million. He owns a career record of 69-91 with a 4.16 ERA, and his best year with the Giants was 2016 when he won 12 and lost 11. Amigos, that is one expensive contract.

I like Bumgarner. He is a great competitor, but he is the biggest bait for trade that could make an aging club, younger and maybe more competitive in the future. The clock might be running out sooner that many believe on this 2018 Giants.

As far as trading Bumgarner and getting some good, exciting prospects go, it might be like the famous #1 Elvis song in 1960, “It’s Now or Never.”