Madison Bumgarner's Diamondbacks Future Discussed by Torey Lovullo: 'I Don't Know'

Madison Bumgarner's future with the Arizona Diamondbacks looks to be uncertain after he allowed seven runs over three innings in Wednesday's 14-5 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo was noncommittal when asked about Bumgarner's status going forward.

"I don't know," Lovullo told reporters. "I don't know. As we do with every situation after every start, we group up as a staff and then sit down with the front office and figure out what to do next. That's what we're gonna end up doing. ... The staff will sit down and figure out what's going to give us the best option in five days. We do the same thing after every start, and we'll do that again."

Bumgarner has a 10.26 ERA with 25 hits allowed, 15 walks and 10 strikeouts in 16.2 innings through four starts this season.

Since signing a five-year, $85 million contract with the Diamondbacks as a free agent in December 2019, Bumgarner has struggled to recapture the form that made him one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball.

The four-time All-Star has a 5.23 ERA with more hits allowed (385) than innings pitched (363.1) in 69 starts since 2020. His average fastball velocity is down to 89.5 mph, and he's throwing it a career-low 33.1 percent of the time.

Per Baseball Savant, opposing hitters have a hard-hit percentage of 43.8 percent and barrel rate of 12.5 percent against Bumgarner this season. The former is the highest rate against him since Statcast tracking began in 2015.

Arizona's top three starting pitchers—Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly and Ryne Nelson—have combined to allow just three more earned runs (22) in 62.2 innings than Bumgarner has in his 16.2 innings.

Bumgarner is owed $23 million this season and $14 million in 2024. D-Backs general manager Mike Hazen told reporters earlier this month the southpaw's contract wouldn't impact any decisions they might make.

"We need to win baseball games," Hazen said. "We're trying to win every single baseball game we're going out to play. We want the five guys in the rotation to solidify those spots and give us some stability there. … We'll continue to assess it as we go. But we need to win baseball games."

If the Diamondbacks don't want to release Bumgarner, they could use a different pitcher at his spot in the rotation to give him time to work on his game. He could also move to the bullpen as a potential multi-inning reliever.

Despite Bumgarner's struggles, Arizona currently leads the National League West in the early stages of this season with an 11-8 record.