Creating a Yankees' trade package: Madison Bumgarner

Last year Cashman acquired Sonny Gray, Jaime Garcia, David Robertson, Tommy Khanle, and Todd Frazier before the July 31st deadline, which helped drive the Bombers to game seven of the ALCS, but they gave up some of their better prospect in the process. The team has its sights set on a championship, so GM Brian Cashman will undoubtedly upgrade the starting pitching at the deadline, but who and for what?

Getty Images

The Yankees currently hold the best winning percentage in the league at .667 with an offense that is on pace to shatter the Mariners single-season home run record. While the team seems almost unbeatable, there are some big chinks in the armor, specifically in the rotation. The Yankees lost Jordan Montgomery to Tommy John surgery last week, and Masahiro Tanaka is out two months with two damaged hamstrings. Luis Severino is a strong candidate for the CY Young award, and CC Sabathia is still fighting off father time, but Sonny Gray is still unreliable. 

The tricky part on predicting who will be available for the Yankees come July is predicting which teams will throw in the towel. The shortlist of possible available pitchers are as follows:

Player	Hand	Team	Record as of 6/25/18
Madison Bumgarner	L	San Francisco Giants	40-39
Cole Hamels	L	Texas Rangers	34-45
Chris Archer	R	Tampa Bay Rays	37-40
Blake Snell	L	Tampa Bay Rays	37-40
Francisco Liriano	L	Detroit Tigers	36-42
Michael Fulmer	R	Detroit Tigers	36-42
Patrick Corbin	L	Arizona D-Backs	44-33
J.A. Happ	L	Toronto Blue Jays	36-41
Jacob deGrom	R	New York Mets	31-44
Noah Syndergaard	R	New York Mets	31-44

In this series of articles, we will look into various trade possibilities for the Yankees before the July 31st deadline.

Note: It is incredibly difficult to predict these trades exactly, as preferences of both teams involved are mostly unknown, so guessing prospects traded is not an exact science. What these articles provide is an entertaining exercise to get to know some possible trade targets and pieces. Enjoy!

There is one pitcher that almost every Yankee faithful dreams of landing. He’s a 6’5” lefty with arguably the most impressive postseason resume in recent memory, and he’s only 28-years old. His name is Madison Bumgarner, and he's under control through 2019. Bumgarner is a four-time All-Star, three-time World Series Champion, World Series MVP, AP Male Athlete of the year, and SI Sportsman of the Year, to go along with a career 1.10 WHIP, 3.03 ERA, and 104-77 record. The ten-year veteran has everything the Yankees could ask for, youth, postseason experience, and incredible talent, but that won't come cheap.

The Giants went all in this offseason, trading for Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen in hopes of their fourth World Series championship since 2010, but with a .500 record and injuries starting to pile up they are teetering on a possible collapse. Bumgarner might be one of their most valuable assets and if they are still set on winning in the short term, prying him away from the club may prove to be tricky.

In this case, we will assume the Giants are below .500 by the deadline and are at least open to selling. In a previous article, we looked into a possible Jacob deGrom trade, which cost the Yankees a pretty penny, but this Bumgarner package should be even more expensive. The Mets may be trying to win now, but they haven’t put the resources into that endeavor as the Giants have, so raising the white flag after only a few months won’t be a pleasant pill to swallow for the Giants. If they do put their ace on the market, they likely will want the El Dorado of packages, like a Gleyber Torres, but I’d be shocked if Cashman parted with the teams most talented rookie, so how would a possible trade for the dirt bike enthusiast look?

First off, like in the deGrom swap, Clint Frazier and their choice of prospect pitcher will be the first to go, likely Justus Sheffield or Chance Adams. After that, the Giants can choose two more high-level prospects, Miguel Andujar being one of them, who would likely replace Longoria in a fire sale. If the Yankees hold Bumgarner and deGrom at a similar value, they may not want to part from him either, meaning they might have to promote Brandon Drury as a good enough trade chip. 

Then look for the Giants than to ask for another pitcher, sadly that means it could be Chance Adams, but after losing late inning pitcher Kyle Crick this year, they may look to add more talent to the back end of the bullpen. If they go this route look for them to ask for 6’7” righty Domingo Acevedo who's 103 MPH fastball will draw comparisons to current Yankee closer Aroldis Chapman. These four may seem like enough, but with only two top-five prospects and a decent to good MLB player, they may want more, if so, switching out Chance Adams or even Estevan Florial

The Trade Option 1: Giants send LHP Madison Bumgarner to the Yankees for OF Clint Frazier, LHP Justus Sheffield, RHP Domingo Acevedo, 2B/3B Brandon Drury

The Trade Option 2: Giants send LHP Madison Bumgarner to the Yankees for OF Clint Frazier, LHP Justus Sheffield, RHP Chance Adams, 2B/3B Brandon Drury

Both options hurt if you’re a Yankee fan and a prospect hugger like I am, but option one is easier to swallow than the alternative. However, if Bumgarner is on the market, teams will line up around the block to acquire the ace, so the latter choice seems likely. The only way option one happens is if the bidding war doesn’t quite get as rapid as one would expect, and its Cashman B level offer that remains the best deal for the team with the 28th ranked farm system.

Losing Frazier and Sheffield hurt, but they are the bare minimum to get a player like Bumgarner. Drury is easily expendable with Torres and Andujar already battling for the AL ROY award. Losing Sheffield and Adams would be a blow to the Yankees, but they have plenty of young pitchers coming up through the ranks to replace them when the time comes, same with Acevedo.

These packages may not be enough for Bumgarner, but I don’t think the Yankees will sacrifice much more than this. They would likely start to look for a cheaper option like Cole Hamels, and pass on such a high cost. If they do come to terms, this will instantly give the Yankees the most potent rotation in the MLB while also letting the Giants rebuild in a hurry.

Stay tuned for more trade possibilities, next is division rival J.A. Happ from the Toronto Blue Jays!

Article by: Maxx Hotton

Follow @getinhottonhere
Follow @bronxbomberball