Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told reporters including The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan that big-ticket free-agent acquisition Madison Bumgarner was removed from today’s game due to back spasms (Twitter links). Bumgarner is returning to Phoenix to be looked at by team doctors.
It’s been a disappointing start to Bumgarner’s career outside of San Francisco. The former Giants’ ace signed a four-year, $72MM deal with the rival Diamondbacks this offseason, and their union is off to a rocky start. Bumgarner is 0-2 with a 7.04 ERA/6.03 FIP through 3 starts. His strikeouts are down to 6.5 K/9 while walks are up to 3.5 BB/9, though feel free to apply any/all small sample size warnings here as Bumgarner has logged just 15 1/3 frames.
The big question with Bumgarner regards his velocity. The former World Series hero is averaging just 87.9 mph on his four-seamer this season after an average of 91.4 mph last season. The fear with this kind of velocity drop is that there’s an arm issue, though there’s been no indication of that from Bumgarner or the Diamondbacks.
scottn59c
Bum has a lot of miles on that arm. But he was also the kind of pitcher who took a few ST games to get tuned up; I recall him getting lit up in many spring trainings and then pitching well in the regular season.
Hopefully he can right the ship.
RighteousAngel
I hope is that the way he’s pitching is similar to spring training
hopper15
While that’s true his velo never dipped this low.
Baseball 1600
Bum would always get better as the season went on. His peak was obviously September/October, and I definitely think that a guy like him gets hurt more than helped when there aren’t any fans in attendance.
SFgiantsUK
By the time January 2021 comes around by this logic, he would be ready and unplayable? As a MadBum fan for ages, even though he has a new home, it should be concerning; let’s see what the re-evaluation brings up
dugmet
Bum’s lifetime stats do not establish he is better in the second half or Sept/Oct of the regular season.
joeyvottoforpresident
I expected this to be a horrible signing by the diamondbacks. I just never trusted Bumgarner, home and away splits and all that’s stuff expected a velocity drop. However I didn’t expect it to be this bad! I expect him to be better than this but in all honesty idk how much longer he’s gonna be effective anyways.
SalaryCapMyth
@Baseball 1600. You should have looked up MadBum’s splits before you said that because I just did and in 2019, 18, and 17, MadBums worst month was actually September. In 2016, it was a little different. His worst month was August.
mikefults
Anyone checked where Bum parked his dirt bike? It can usually be found upside down on its handle bars. DNags signed this Bum for who he was, not who he is.
ayrbhoy
I feel like that happens a lot in MLB- Players getting paid for what they were. I’m a Mariners fan, we signed Brian Shaw right on 7/13. Sure Brian Shaw had success in his 8th inn role in CLE but he spent the last 2 years in CO where he had a 5.61 ERA in 133 appearances. In the 4 games for us ( 3.3 inn) he’s had: 4 BB’s 1 K/0 and 10 H’s to the tune of a 27.00 ERA. Dipoto clearly signed him for who he was in CLE and he hoped his poor numbers in CO were a result of that park.
geg42
MadBum is getting lit up like a Christmas tree. Something must be wrong.
DarkSide830
they really should have expected this given his numbers in the last few years
RighteousAngel
but he pitched all his starts away not in chase from field that often
giantsphan12
@darkside, I don’t disagree that Bum’s stats over the past few years made me think that his deal in AZ was pitcher-friendly, however, I didn’t expect him to be this bad out of the gate.
DarkSide830
im more referring to the poor health then the numbers themselves. poor health usually causes poor production.
seamaholic 2
Only a certain number of bullets in even the most talented arms. That was a bad signing by the normally very smart Dbacks, and I think most of baseball knew it.
SalaryCapMyth
Seamaholic!!! Haven’t seen you on these comment boards in some time. I hope you are well.
I think some people might have a difficult time realizing that MadBum is actually human that will regress if not by injury than age. He has built up quite a cult following.
If MadBum can’t figure out a way to get back to at least his 2019 productivity, this will be a long 4 years for the DBacks.
pato349
In unrelated news, cowboy wannabe Mason Saunders separated his shoulder while roping a calf at the local 4H ho down
Merkle's Boner
Ha!
Orel Saxhiser
Bum had an ERA of 2.93 at home in 2019, and 5.29 on the road. This is not stunning news.
Brixton
BRef has his contract @ 5/85 not 4/72 fwiw
antibelt
It is 5/85.
bravesfan88
Where is the troll “NoBumgardenerEqualsNo…” whatever the heck it was..
He was so quick to bash the Braves for every move they made, because they didn’t sign MadBum, even though it was pretty likely whichever team that signed him was going to regret it…
So quick to point out the wasted money in Hamels, and how the Braves were just being cheap and did not make any improvements this off-season..
Idk, right now, I’d much rather have d’Arnaud and Ozuna than MadBum, or Will Smith, O’Day, and Martin..
I was horrified when I heard the Braves were interested in MadBum, especially after hearing his contract demands..I’m not sure there has ever been a contract that was so likely to blow up in a team’s face from the very moment it was signed..No offense to the D-Backs, nor MadBum, but I am pretty sure those two, along with NoBumGardenerEqualsNo, might have been the only ones that didn’t see this coming…
DarkSide830
he’s on to hating on Acuna now. im sure his 3 HR today weren’t good enough for him, right?
bravesfan88
Oh lord, well let him continue hating away!! Acuña did get off to a slow start, but I think it was pretty obvious he was about to start to turn it around after only a couple of games.
You could see he was starting to see and attack the ball better, and he was making much stronger contact..Acuña Jr. is extremely young, and he will have some down times, but he is just too good and too gifted to stay down for any sustainable period of time..
Ozzy is the guy I am actually worried about. His elbow has been clearly bothering him, and it is clearly an issue right now. I just hope they let him get it fully healed, and then start to play him again. Otherwise, that elbow could flare back up at any moment, and it could linger throughout this entire season…
YankeesBleacherCreature
Even the best players sometimes slumps for weeks if not months and end up having great seasons. We’re about 16 games into the season which is equivalent 10% of a regular full season. Way too early to make any definitive statements.
Lets Go DBacks
Dude has pitched just 3 games. Don’t hear anyone complaining about Rendon and his 0.100 BA after just two weeks.
bravesfan88
If you are truly.going to use that comparison, and think it is legitimate…I will just move on, and say you win..
bravesfan88
The ONLY thing tieing those two together is that they both changed teams this off-season..
Otherwise, their careers are on totally different trajectories and paths..
Lets Go DBacks
If you are truly going to jump into conclusions after two weeks of baseball and think it is legitimate…I will tell you it is such a small sample size and therefore any comment on it is up for discussion. Even the entire 2020 season statistic will be up to discussion. We’ll see how he returns in 2021 if no major injury comes to light that explains his velocity drop before that.
RunDMC
I don’t think it’s the early numbers so much, as he is a different SP: mlb.com/news/madison-bumgarner-2020-velocity-drop
Is that what ARZ was bargaining for? Already been reports that MadBum was frustrated by his fastball, so I can’t imagine ARZ brass expected an inferior pitcher so soon into the contract. Maybe he does get some more velo back, but he’s going to have to embrace less velo and more refinement, or he’s going to continue to get lit up, especially in that dry air.
antibelt
He’s pitched 4 games. Got lit up by the Padres today. Allowed 4 homers in 2 innings
His ERA sits at 9.04.
differentbears
Three games (edit: four games) is a small sample size, but being nearly 4 MPH down in velocity is a very bad sign.
Lets Go DBacks
@differentbears it is a very bad sign, not arguing that, but on such a small sample size you can hardly argue that it is consistent. Only time will tell but it does not make sense jumping into conclusions after nearly two weeks of ball.
stymeedone
Maybe it’s due to his back problem, duh?
RunDMC
They go by the name (AcunaisSTILLOVERRATED). This guy is a plague on MadBum’s career.
SalaryCapMyth
What I would kill for that guy to come here and argue that it’s just a small sample size. Coming from him, that would just be lunacy and not because the argument is necessarily wrong. If you don’t look at his peripherals from 2018-2019, you might use that argument.
RunDMC
That would mean he would have reason and logic, which I haven’t seen in any post. But notice they are not present in any recent posts.
DTD_ATL
I literally only clicked to see if he had anything stupid to say…he’s very quiet, wonder why?
bravos4evr
Ha! was just gonna ask the same thing! That guy is a maroon!
James1955
Posters said Bumgarner was the Bumgarner of old and he will never get injured.
angt222
Hopefully the drop in velo isn’t a cause of TJS/TOS need..
VegasSDfan
It says back issues, ever had them? It can make you unable to do just about anything.
Yankee Clipper
Yeah and look at Kershaw as a comparable. Great pitcher, and has the durable arm, it’s the back spasms. If you’ve never had them, they are debilitating and there is no way to pitch while going through them. I feel for him and his team – this has to be incredibly frustrating for him because he’s a fierce competitor.
LosPobres1904
Tatis broke his spirit
mrpadre19
I’m sure it’s just Whiplash!
Briffle2
Back or neck spasms? MadBum makes Derek Holland feel good about himself.
VonPurpleHayes
Where is AcunaisSTILLOVERRATED?
SalaryCapMyth
ROFL! My friend, many of us are wondering that same thing! I already read several posts mentioning him! I don’t think I have ever seen a commenter so tied to one player than him. He will never live this down until he changes his name and the way he interacts.
The Braves really do have real holes and issues to correct if they want to be a serious world series threat, but Acuna and not acquiring Bumgarner is certainly not any of those issues.
Appalachian_Outlaw
I heard a rumor he stopped production on the exclusive MadBum HoF wing to personally drive to Arizona to see what the deal is.
The irony is he absolutely crushed the Braves for keeping Folty; and here’s his guy also with a massive loss in velo and ineffective.
VonPurpleHayes
Hahaha love this response
jgus828
It was a ‘red flag’ when he took lower amount to pitch for a team going no where just so he could have his cattle. With what he has accomplished, can’t blame him, just screws over Diamond back fans.
antibelt
Took a lower amount? DBacks were offering the most money.
Lets Go DBacks
@jgus8282 A team going nowhere? Instead of tearing it all down like many have done in recent years it has been tweaking its team with quite some succes. True, no one can touch the Dodgers in NL West but I think the Dbacks earn more respect these last years than being called “going nowhere”.
Javia
I have to agree with letsgodbacks. I am far from a dbacks fan, especially considering they are in direct competition with my team in the NL West, but they have been a good team. A playoff team. Many predicted them for the Wild Card this year, even before the new expanded playoffs.
Bumgarner was always going to go to the team that offered him the most money. Arizona was that team. Really every FA screws over their team’s fans. They get as much money as they possibly can even if they know they aren’t or won’t be worth it, even if their money keeps the team from signing other FAs. Bumgarner got the money he wanted. I think SF knew he wouldn’t be worth it and frankly I think he probably knew it too.
Lets Go DBacks
Thank you for that.
I hope that most Dbacks fans like me don’t expect 5 great years out of him. Two good years and one decent could have been reasonably expected and the final two…well maybe he could have been traded by then or make up the rotation as fifth starter in the window of contention with the financial burden that contract is by then.
Lets Go DBacks
Thank you for that.
I hope that most Dbacks fans like me don’t expect 5 great years out of him. Two good years and one decent could have been reasonably expected and the final two…well maybe he could have been traded by then or make up the rotation as fifth starter in the window of contention with the financial burden that contract is by then.
RunDMC
They celebrated getting out of Zack Greinke’s ridiculous deal (sort of — out of sight, out mind – they paid him $25.99MM to pitch for HOU) by making another ridiculous deal with MadBum. I really want to know when the DBacks are going to change to a NAICS Code 813219: Other Grantmaking and Giving Services – and officially become a charity.
Lets Go DBacks
Greinke deal was an other front office. And consensus in the Greinke trade with Houston was the Dbacks got a good haul.
Now the Bumgarner deal, SF was supposedly offering 4 years and over 70MM, the Dbacks just offered that extra year he was looking for.
Good deals and bad deals are made every year and by every team. Did not hear you complain about the Ketel Madre extension. Don’t bash on the Dbacks just for bashing on them.
SalaryCapMyth
I think we all know AcunaisSTILLOVERRATED..also known as NOBUMGARNEREQUALSNONLCS will not have the nerve to show up to this comment section. Sigh..just to bad.
I think this will be a long 4 year contract. Not just because of the bad start but also because of the 4.31 xFIP he sported from last year. Oracle Park hid his decline.
lowtalker1
Removed? With 6 runs or so through 2?
ukpadre
I thought this was funny phrasing too. I don’t know how they said that with a straight face. He was removed because he’d given up 4 homers in 2 innings, not because of any injury. Would not have been removed had he been throwing a no hitter.
brandons-3
As he moves into his 30’s, he may just have to learn how to be a different kind of pitcher. That adjustment period from in-prime ace to quality veteran doesn’t always happen overnight.
I remember 2013-15 when people thought Verlander’s days as an ace were behind him. As pitchers age, they’ve got to evolve because your repertoire as a 27-year-old typically won’t be the same when you turn 33.
Two weeks is too early to write off a Bumgarner, though the age, salary, and miles on his arm in particular don’t inspire confidence hence some overreaction. Time will tell, but for now, I’d bet on Bumgarner eventually being able to be a different kind of productive pitcher. “Clutch” isn’t an exact science or statistic, but he’s the epitome of it.
brucenewton
Bumgarner is cooked. It’s over.
Rhino
He has never pitched well in high elevation. Arizona’s home park has the second highest elevation in the league.
ukpadre
Except last nights game was at Petco in San Diego, which as far as I knew was at sea level. Try another theory…
bradthebluefish
Probably has something to do with his ATV injury
bravesfan
For years, I could single in on players I wanted the Braves to get and rather we got them or not those players ended up doing really well that particular or even more. Lately however, I have been way off! I wanted Bum this offseason… full well knowing he’s washed up. But I figured, hey, we needed depth in our rotation at worse I figured he’d be a super strong #4 or 5. Boy was I wrong….. when I saw what he signed for, I was glad the Braves didn’t get him but that doesn’t erase the fact that from a pure talent aspect, I was still way off
VegasSDfan
Just a reminder that Lincecum pitched until he was 32, in which he only threw in 9 games.
The Dbacks should be worried because he is still owed some major money.
semut
Lincecum’s body broke down because of his scrawny frame and weird twisting delivery. Apples and oranges, dude
WarrenSpahn
Bum is just flipping up bp…
Giants FO must be feeling pretty good
Pete'sView
I hate to see a competitor like MadBum struggle like this, but as a Giants fan, I am not totally surprised—especially at Chase.
semut
“Bumgarner is 0-2 with a 7.04 ERA/6.03 FIP through 3 starts”
??? No he’s not, he’s 0-3 with a 9.35 era
kahnkobra
he’s more Bum than Garner these days
SportsFan0000
Terribly bad signing by D Backs…Obviously, Madbum’s are was tapped out by excessive usage in SF. Either he is a shell of his former self, or maybe he is a candidate for surgery?!
WarrenSpahn
Bum’s contract is looking like a millstone for small to mid market D Back team
maybe the Yankers will take it…