Diamondbacks 2023 Player Reviews: Madison Bumgarner

The former ace only saw action with the team in April before a so-called "Amicable Divorce" occurred

This article is part of a series of player reviews for the 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks. It was a surprising and marvelous year for the team as they won 84 games to make the postseason. They advanced all the way to Game Five of the World Series before bowing out to the Texas Rangers. There are 54 players in all that had at least one at-bat or pitched at least one inning for the team this past season. They are being presented in reverse order of their aWAR (average WAR-Wins Above Replacement) produced, which is the average of Baseball Reference and Fangraphs WAR. These are their season stories.

Madison Bumgarner: -0.55 aWAR

Madison Bumgarner had an extremely difficult last month as a member of the Diamondbacks in April / Jake Oliver

Madison Bumgarner's large free agent contract that was for 5-years and $85 MM finally ends after next season. However, he won't be on the team next year. Instead, the Diamondbacks will be paying him $14 MM to stay home or play for another team. This is because they designated for assignment Bumgarner after a disastrous start against the St. Louis Cardinals in April.

He had four starts for the D-backs this year and went 0-3. He walked 15 batters and gave up 19 runs in just 16.2 innings. His ERA+ was 43 while league average is 100. He was simply unplayable. This was why the Diamondbacks designated for assignment Bumgarner.

Back in April, the Diamondbacks were extremely hot and in first place in the NL West. The team needed to act urgently in order to keep winning and General Manager Hazen did just that. Back then, “We’re not blind to what’s been happening” Hazen said. “I don’t think he was either. It was a struggle. He was trying to do everything he could to right the ship, it just didn’t really work out. So it [the discussions] started a few weeks ago.”

Ownership was fine with having to pay Bumgarner $14 MM next year in order to win this year as mentioned by Hazen, "In the end I was told to do what needs to be done to win baseball games. That’s the message I got. [from ownership]. You need to do what you need to do to win baseball games.“

Reportedly, Bumgarner had developed a contentious relationship with Pitching Coach Brent Strom over 2022 and 2023. He was reportedly unwilling to make changes that would help him. Strom later said that it was an "amicable divorce" although such a crucial mis-step by a team that can't spend huge feels a lot less amicable. Especially when presented with a player refusing coaching and trying to do things his own way. That's the opposite of everything that Manager Torey Lovullo preaches and how he wants his team culture to be.

Bumgarner finished his Arizona tenure and potentially his career with just 363.1 innings over 69 starts from 2020-2023. He went 15-32 and had an ERA of 5.23 with a FIP of 5.17. He struck out just 276 batters and walked 116 of them. Perhaps the worst stat is that he gave up 66 home runs. Over his 3+ seasons in the desert, Bumgarner was worth -0.5 WAR.

2024 Status and Outlook:

It remains to be seen what happens with Madison Bumgarner and his career. He's entering his age-34 season with not a whisper of interest from any MLB team. No one claimed him or traded for him when he was on waivers. He never received any actual interest from any MLB team during the rest of the 2023 season.

It's quite potentially a fact that Bumgarner's final MLB pitch came while in a Diamondbacks uniform in St. Louis against the Cardinals. Madison Bumgarner could see the MLB run past his legendary postseason history after finding out he wouldn't  adjust as the game changed. One thing is certain. The Arizona Diamondbacks will be paying him a lot of money to not play for the team.

Diamondbacks 2023 Review: March/April

Mike Hazen Stresses Urgency in Decision to DFA Bumgarner