Despite the positives, the fact of the matter is the D-backs will be left on the couch watching October baseball in a year they were expected to participate in the playoffs. But he enters his fourth start of the season Sunday with a 7.04 ERA, third-worst among qualified starters in 15 1/3 innings pitched. The deal brought an average annual value of $17 million, leaving many to believe the Diamondbacks made out like winners. The left-hander’s fastball velocity is turning into a serious concern for the Arizona Diamondbacks, who signed Bumgarner to a five-year, $85 million deal this offseason. by Connor Rooney | Diamondbacks Correspondent | Mon, Sep 28th 7:47am EDT. It’s just been tough to watch someone who was once dominant, and still so young––just 31––struggle so much to compete. As the 2019 season winds down, MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince projected the top 20 free agents-to-be and has the Giants icon ranked No. The start of the 2020 season isn’t the first time Bumgarner has dealt with diminished fastball velocity, but he’s never consistently struggled to hit 90 miles per hour. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. “And I think everybody's doing the same.”. Perhaps this is largely due to a mixture of a lack of preparedness and injuries, but that’s still a steep dip. There were expectations that he’d continue to be the ace. Madison Bumgarner's fresh start in Arizona hasn’t gone as planned so far. Updated 1807 GMT (0207 HKT) February 24, 2020 . The 2020 season, which has been postponed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is set to start later this month. However, his fastball has plummeted from 91.4 mph in 2019 to just 88.0 in 2020. Fast forward to Tuesday night––all concerns were on full display. Click here for our latest Mercury News offer and here for the latest East Bay Times offer. So while his decline may already be in front of us, at least he’s going out having broken the bank. After all, the now 31-year-old southpaw is a three-time World Series champion. That could raise concerns about another physical issue, but the team has said there’s no indication he’s currently injured, and he has said the same, saying he’s been replicating the same process. None of those numbers are bad but certainly left a little to be desired. August 10, 2020: Arizona Diamondbacks placed LHP Madison Bumgarner on the 10-day injured list. That leaves Lovullo and general manager Mike Hazen, who both suffered their first losing season in 2020, with questions to address in order to get back to where they thought they would be entering the season. It is quite possible, however, that the southpaw once regarded as a postseason legend, has sped up his own decline. Further to the point on location, he’s thrown 19.6% of his pitches into the chase zone, also the lowest of his career. Madison Bumgarner has never been a flamethrower (highest average fastball velocity for a season was 92.7 in 2015). Bumgarner could lead NL in innings pitched. But the fact remains that his days of using his fastball to miss bats is likely behind him. Should these struggles linger, not many teams, if any, would want to take on a bottom-tier pitcher for $17 million-per-year. CLICK HERE if you’re having trouble viewing media on a mobile device. Bumgarner may have to rely on his other pitches more. It stands to reason he’d need to throw in the zone more overall, then be more specifically in that chase region when he is outside the zone, to have the most success. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents. He’s not missing bats, his fastball is down an average of 3.4 mph from last year, and he’s only in year one of five. The only starter to lose more mph on his fastball from last year to this year is Mike Foltynewicz -- who went from 94.9 mph on fastballs last year to 90.4 mph this year, made one start for the Braves and was outrighted to the alternate training site. Madison Bumgarner, who was not traded by the Giants prior to the July 31 MLB trade deadline, will test the free agent market for the first time in his career. Bruce Bochy on possible return to managing: ‘I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it’ He finishes the 2020 campaign with a 30:14 K:BB and a 6.48 ERA over 41.2 innings. But the question is, what happens then? Madison Bumgarner, who was not traded by the Giants prior to the July 31 MLB trade deadline, will test the free agent market for the first time in his career. Bumgarner will likely make two more starts in 2020, meaning his 162-game pace would be 24 starts. He has won three World Series, and a World Series MVP during his time with the Giants. Meaning this contract is fast-approaching albatross levels. After two injury-shortened seasons, Bumgarner stayed healthy this year and will make his 32nd start on Saturday night against the Marlins. He finishes the 2020 campaign with a 30:14 K:BB and a 6.48 ERA over 41.2 innings. Bumgarner had 85 million reasons to move to the desert. “We’ve got to address that.”. Glass half full for the D-backs, however, is things started to turn in the right direction as the shortened 60-game season came to a close, starting with Bumgarner, who ended the season with 10 consecutive innings not allowing a run.