Yankees News: GM Brian Cashman Says Team Is Interested in Madison Bumgarner

The New York Yankees figure to aggressively pursue starting pitching during this winter's free agency, and one player they have on their radar is Madison Bumgarner.

"I will definitely talk to Bumgarner's agency," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle at the general manager meetings. "I haven't. But I will."

The Yankees won't be alone in their potential pursuit of Bumgarner, however. Two teams to monitor when it comes to his services are the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic:

"The Phillies are likely to cast a wide net for starting pitching, and can not be ruled out for the top free agent, right-hander Gerrit Cole. But they also could sign Cole Hamels and another free-agent starter—say, left-hander Madison Bumgarner—for less than half of what it would take to get Cole.

"Yes, the Phils have checked in on Bumgarner, and likely are motivated to keep him away from the Braves, their NL East rivals. The Braves are the team closest to Bumgarner’s hometown of Hickory, N.C., and seem a more natural fit for him than the Phillies."

"We'd like to add to the rotation in some capacity," Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos told Shea. "Where that leads us, I don't know yet."

For teams in need of top-end starting pitching, this winter is a good one to be in the market. Cole is the headliner, but Stephen Strasburg, Bumgarner, Zack Wheeler, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Jake Odorizzi, Hamels and Dallas Keuchel make it a deep talent pool to chase. 

Cashman previously said the Yankees would also reach out to Cole and Strasburg.

"Of course, we're going to talk to Strasburg. We'll talk to Cole. We'll talk to the higher-end guys clearly and have conversations there," he said, per Ronald Blum of the Associated Press. "And we'll also talk about some surprise guys, I'm sure."

The Yankees have one of the more fearsome lineups in all of baseball and a fantastic bullpen, but adding a top-of-the-line starter to their rotation should be a priority. And while the 30-year-old Bumgarner hasn't been one of the game's truly elite pitchers since 2016, with injury-plagued years in 2017-18, he's coming off a solid campaign.

Bumgarner finished 9-9 with a 3.90 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 203 strikeouts in 207.2 innings this past season. And it's important to remember that he has been downright dominant in October, with an 8-3 record in the postseason that includes a 2.11 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, three shutouts, three complete games, three World Series titles and 87 strikeouts in 102.1 innings. 

For a team with title aspirations like the Yankees, getting that level of performance in October would be huge. Bumgarner would be a strong addition, though there will be competition for his services. 

"He's been a tremendous player for a long time," Cashman said. "We're going to look at everybody that's out there, obviously. Starting pitching is important, and he's been one of the game's better starting pitchers for a long time. So we'll certainly have a conversation."