Madison Bumgarner, Diamondbacks Agree to 5-Year Contract Worth Reported $85M

Madison Bumgarner will don a new uniform next season after officially signing a contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday.

ESPN's Jeff Passan first reported the two sides had reached an agreement, while Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported the contract is worth $85 million.

This brings an end to Bumgarner's tenure with the San Francisco Giants that goes back to 2007 when he was drafted No. 10 overall. According to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, the Giants offered Bumgarner a four-year contract that was "just above" $70 million.

The southpaw developed into one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball after being called up to the big leagues at the age of 20 in September 2009.

During his 10 full seasons in San Francisco, Bumgarner was named to the All-Star team four times, finished in the top 10 of NL Cy Young voting four times and won three World Series titles.

The 2014 postseason will forever be Bumgarner's crowning achievement. The southpaw carried San Francisco to a title with a 1.03 ERA in 52.2 innings over seven appearances, including five shutout innings on two days' rest in Game 7 of the World Series against the Kansas City Royals.

And now, he moves south to Arizona to play for an NL West rival.

Even as Bumgarner's skill set has declined in recent years, the 30-year-old is still capable of being a high-level pitcher for any rotation. He tied his career high with 34 starts in 2019 and had a 3.90 ERA in 207.2 innings.

A starter who can give you 200 innings is a luxury that every MLB team wants to have. The Diamondbacks are betting on Bumgarner's recent performance carrying over, and there's no evidence to suggest it won't happen. Bumgarner will lead a rotation that will likely include Robbie Ray, Mike Leake, Merrill Kelly and Luke Weaver.

Injuries limited Bumgarner to 38 combined starts in 2017 and 2018, but he still had a 3.29 ERA during that span. Adding a pitcher with this kind of pedigree makes the Diamondbacks a potential playoff contender in 2020.