MLB Rumors: More MadBum fallout, Aaron Hicks destinations, prospect proves Cubs wrong
By Mark Powell
MLB Rumors: More details on Madison Bumgarner’s release from the Diamondbacks
Madison Bumgarner was let go in May after a series of tough starts with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Despite his name brand and price tag, Bumgarner was doing more harm than good in the D’Backs rotation.
Bumgarner is not the pitcher he once was, but he’s surely better than his 10-plus ERA might suggest. Per The Athletic, there was plenty going on behind the scenes which led to Bumgarner’s downfall in Arizona.
When pressed on his release, Bumgarner refused to give much detail.
“I definitely can,” Bumgarner told The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan, “but I’m not going to throw anybody under the bus.”
From an outsider’s perspective, the disconnect between Bumgarner and the D’Backs is simple: A fresh start was needed thanks to a difference in opinion.
Bumgarner prefers to have scouting reports delivered to him prior to each start. That job used to be handled by former big-league pitcher Dan Haren. However, for whatever reason, that model for improvement stopped in the middle of Bumgarner’s tenure. He wasn’t happy, and Arizona hasn’t shied away from that fact.
“A lot of times, highly successful people are resistant to change, and this was a highly successful guy,” Arizona pitching coach Brent Strom told reporters. “Perhaps the changes I tried to make and introduce and this and that, it just didn’t take. We had an amicable divorce.”
It’s tough to consider that divorce amicable, as one side ultimately made the decision. Nonetheless, it’s been a few weeks and Bumgarner has yet to find a new home. That’s more telling than anything listed above.