Pitching-thin Rangers could use Bumgarner, but here’s why they won’t pursue Giants ace

A friend in the sports-journalism game shot me a text asking if the Rangers would try to make a play for Madison Bumgarner, ace of the San Francisco Giants and the winning pitcher of Game 3 of the 2010 World Series against the Rangers.

The Giants reportedly are open to listening to offers on their big left-hander, and teams should be lining up.

The friend’s point: The Rangers get him and try to sign him long-term ahead of the opening of Globe Life Field in 2020 and then to lead the pitching staff once the rebuilding Rangers are ready to contend again.

The thought isn’t without precedent. If the Rangers are being honest with themselves, the Cole Hamels trade in 2015 was about 2016, even though it worked out pretty darn well in 2015.

The San Diego Padres took a deeper-than-usual dive into free agency last year by signing first baseman Eric Hosmer, a quality player and supreme teammate who, in theory, will lead the young Padres into contention.

Nevertheless, I told my buddy, no, the Rangers probably aren’t going there, and not just because their flashy off-season signing to date is manager Chris Woodward. Jeff Mathis and Jesse Chavez aren’t real needle-movers.

Furthermore, a source confirmed that the Rangers will pass on MadBum.

I didn’t press on the reasoning, because, well, there are myriad reasons.

Here’s my reasoning: The Rangers would have to surrender, say, Nomar Mazara and two or three to prospects, maybe Hans Crouse, from a thin system for a pitcher who is turning 30 this season and has a lot of miles on his left shoulder. (The Rangers are willing to trade from their glut of lefty-hitting corner outfielders, but so far this off-season nothing of note has developed.)

Bumgarner is also one of the best pitchers in postseason history, so what incentive would he have to re-sign long-term with the Rangers? Even if he loved it with the Rangers, there are no guarantees when free agency comes around. Josh Hamilton reinforced that in 2012.

Furthermore, general manager Jon Daniels rightfully gets gun shy when it comes to long-term deals for aging starting pitchers.

One more: The Rangers are rebuilding.

At one point during the 2018 season, Daniels mentioned possibly taking a shot at high-priced acquisition, following the Hamels-Hosmer model. More recently, though, Daniels has said that this isn’t the year the Rangers go all-in on player acquisition.

The Rangers are still hunting for at least one starting pitcher, and don’t be surprised if they add a righty-hitting corner infielder. Surveying the bullpen landscape, a veteran lefty reliever (Jake Diekman, anybody?) would serve the Rangers well in 2019, too.

But that one starting pitcher isn’t going to be Bumgarner.

This story was originally published November 28, 2018 at 4:18 PM.