BREAKING NEWS: Madison Bumgarner Sent to Phoenix to be Evaluated
As reported by Steve Gilbert of MLB, Madison Bumgarner will return to Phoenix to receive a medical evaluation after complaining of fatigue after last night's start.
Additional context was reported by Nick Piecoro of AZ Central
There is some inference to be gained here from the use of the words "very strongly", that suggests Bumgarner is not fully in agreement with this development. His next outing was likely scheduled to be next Friday night at Chase Field, also against the Dodgers who he just faced last night.
While fans often call for struggling veteran pitchers without options to be placed on the injured list with some sort of phantom injury, it should be noted that such an action by a team is in violation of the collective bargaining agreement.
However it would not be unprecedented for there to be a dispute between a player and a team over placement on the injured list. It's not known at this time whether or not Bumgarner will be getting any imaging or to what extent this evaluation will be.
No roster move has been made or announced as of this writing. But as pointed out in this morning's game preview, the bullpen is already getting stretched thin early in the season.
As reported prior to last night's game, the Bumgarner signing has not gone well. He is now 15-30 in his Diamondbacks career with 5.09 ERA in 66 starts, 351 innings pitched. This is not what the team envisioned when they signed the World Series hero from the San Francisco Giants.
We will monitor this situation closely for you and give you the in depth details as they become available.