Los Angeles Dodgers: Reasons why Madison Bumgarner won’t come to LA
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Dodgers did not end up winning the Gerrit Colee sweepstakes and now the narrative has shifted to a southpaw pitcher in Madison Bumgarner.
Gerrit Cole’s nine-year, $324 million contract with the New York Yankees made history as it is the largest contract to ever be given out to a pitcher and is the third-largest in baseball history behind two that were signed last winter, Bryce Harper and Mike Trout.
Cole earned it as he put together a stellar season in which he was a Cy Young finalist and was electric in the playoffs. Barring any significant setbacks, the New York Yankees have their ace for the 2020s.
The Los Angeles Dodgers were one of the final teams in on Cole and Jon Heyman, who broke the news of the Cole signing, also tweeted that the Dodgers were very aggressive in their pursuit of Cole. We have no solid figures yet, but it would not be surprising if Cole was offered a 10-year, $300 million contract from the Dodgers.
The offseason is not over, though, and the front office has more things to be concerned about, one of which is reportedly rivaled pitcher Madison Bumgarner.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the Dodgers focus was shifting to Bumgarner, which was a surprise to many Dodger fans who have been strongly booing him this entire decade.
However, while I am sure the report is legitimate, I doubt that a Bumgarner signing every comes to fruition, and not for the trivial things that have been tossed around. He won’t not sign in LA just because of the rivalry, but for other, more important reasons.
Here are the main reasons why Bumgarner will not be coming to Los Angeles this winter.