Giants haven’t talked extension with Madison Bumgarner

The San Francisco Giants have made upgrades in the trade market, and now they should lock up a player already on the team.

The San Francisco Giants were terrible in 2017. They were awarded the second-overall pick in the draft because Pablo Sandoval hit a walk-off home run. But the club has made moves to improve the team such as acquiring Andrew McCutchen and Evan Longoria. The Giants are fending off an overdue rebuild with these win-now moves which has burned the farm system.

With that said, the Giants are still committed to this core. So wouldn’t they want to keep the band together? The club locked up their face of the franchise in Buster Posey right before the 2013 season. Now, they should look to extend their ace Madison Bumgarner before it’s too late. Baseball writer John Shea went right to the source to find out if any is imminent.

"Bobby Evans said there haven’t been any recent contract talks with Madison Bumgarner."

So, why haven’t the Giants done anything on that front? Well, maybe the team doesn’t want to go over the luxury tax threshold. They are one of many big-market teams that are holding their cards until next year’s star free-agent class. The southpaw has a club option for the 2019 season for $12 million. With that said, the Giants are probably waiting for what 2018 will bring. If the 2018 season goes awry, they may sell off assets.

In 2017, the lefty tossed a 3.32 ERA in 110 innings. But, the southpaw was bit by the injury bug during the season. Although, Bumgarner’s track record is one of the best in the past decade. There is no reason why the Giants are waiting this long. They have committed to this team, so the Giants should be rewarding one of their key guys. Unless the front office is hesitant in handing out long-term deals. The Giants may be looking at a one and done year in 2018.

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What might an extension look like? Bumgarner, we’ll be around 30 if/when he becomes a free agent. So, a deal around Yu Darvish’s deal with Cubs could be a benchmark. A 5-year/$130 million deal is a realistic number on the open market. The lefty probably isn’t taking a discount to stay with the Giants, so the club will have to pay up if they want to keep him. A major rebuild is just around the corner though. Whatever the Giants plan to do, the clock is ticking.