Madison Bumgarner: San Francisco Giants Lock Down Star Pitcher with Extension

The San Francisco Giants have secured yet another one of their ace pitchers, as they signed young lefty Madison Bumgarner to a five-year extension on Monday.

John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reported the news via Twitter:

"

#SFgiants signed Madison Bumgarner to five-year extension.

— John Shea (@JohnSheaHey) April 16, 2012"

Shea subsequently noted that Bumgarner's extension takes him through 2017 with the club, with options for 2018 and 2019. SFX Baseball Group tweeted the financial terms of the deal:

"

Congratulations to Madison Bumgarner on his 5-year $35 million extension with the Giants!

— SFX Baseball Group (@SFXBaseball) April 16, 2012"

Giants general manager Brian Sabean had this to say in a press release, via John Shea:

"

Preserving our core pitching for the long term remains a top priority for the Giants, and today’s extension certainly helps further that goal. Madison has already proven that he is one of the best left-handed pitchers in the game today, and we are confident that he will continue to succeed for many years to come.

"

This offseason, the Giants signed two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum to a two-year contract worth $40.5 million. More recently, they signed ace right-hander Matt Cain to a massive five-year extension worth $127 million. 

Bumgarner is still only 22 years old. He became a full-time player with the Giants during the 2010 season, going 7-6 with a 3.00 ERA in 18 starts. He won two of his three starts in the postseason that year, with a 2.18 ERA.

In his first full season with the Giants in 2011, Bumgarner went 13-13 with a 3.21 ERA. His FIP, however, was 2.67, the fourth-lowest figure in the league, endearing Bumgarner to sabermetricians all across the nation.

Bumgarner struggled in his first 2012 start, but he pitched 7.1 innings of one-run ball in his second outing against the Colorado Rockies.

The season is still young, but nobody should be surprised if Bumgarner emerges as the best pitcher in the Giants' rotation. He has very good stuff and pitches with the guile of a veteran.

With Bumgarner and Cain locked up long-term, the Giants are going to have a strong rotation duo to build on for the foreseeable future.