Madison Bumgarner Trade Rumors: Giants Seen as Unlikely to Sell Amid Hot Streak

The San Francisco Giants may have played themselves out of being sellers ahead of the trade deadline.

They're the hottest team in baseball, having won 16 of their past 19 games to get back into the wild-card picture. And according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, that hot streak has also made them unlikely to deal starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner:

The Giants reportedly will at least entertain offers for Bumgarner and other players, however:

While the Giants have no chance of winning the NL West—they're 15.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers—they are firmly in the wild-card chase. 

If the postseason began today, the Washington Nationals (52-46) and St. Louis Cardinals (52-47) would earn the two National League wild-card berths. Hot on their heels, however, are the Philadelphia Phillies (52-48), Milwaukee Brewers (53-49), Giants (51-50) and Arizona Diamondbacks (51-50).

Both the Giants and Diamondbacks are two games behind the Cardinals, who are pretty hot themselves, having won eight of their last 10. 

Based on how tight that wild-card chase is, the Giants have little incentive to sell, especially given how legendary Bumgarner has been in the postseason during his career.

In 14 postseason starts (and 16 overall appearances), he's 8-3 with a 2.11 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 87 strikeouts and a save in 102.1 innings. He is a three-time champion and the 2014 World Series MVP. 

The four-time All-Star is having a solid—if unspectacular—2019 season, at least by his own standards, going 5-7 with a 3.65 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 127 strikeouts in 125.2 innings. But in October, Bumgarner always has the potential to carry the Giants to an improbable run through the postseason.

He will be a free agent after this season, which sparked the trade rumors in the first place. But the Giants will have options if they keep Bumgarner in San Francisco.

As Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote: "One executive suggests the Giants could stay intact and then make both Bumgarner and closer Will Smith qualifying offers—the worst that could happen is that Smith would accept and they would overpay him for one season while retaining him as a potential trade asset."

And given San Francisco's recent surge and an excellent bullpen that could play a huge factor down the stretch, they have little reason to trade their 29-year-old ace. The Giants should consider being buyers and adding another big bat to their lineup instead.