Arizona general manager who released Bumgarner “did what it took to win”
Mike Hazen, general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who released Madison Bumgarner, a veteran lefty who won three World Series titles, explained the background.
Hazen held a press conference ahead of the home game against the San Diego Padres at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona on the 21st (Korean time), explaining the transfer of Bumgarner that day.
He said, “The performance he showed recently also influenced the decision. He wanted to rebound by giving him the maximum chance, but yesterday he couldn’t see it, and he made a decision,” he explained the reason for the release.
Bumgarner, who signed a five-year, $85 million contract ahead of the 2020 season, was 15-32 with a 5.23 ERA, throwing 363 1/3 innings in 69 games.
This season was the worst. He threw 16 2/3 innings in 4 games and lost 3 with a 10.26 earned run average, 2.4 WHIP, 2.2 home runs per 9 innings, 8.1 walks and 5.4 strikeouts. In the St. Louis expedition on the 20th, he showed the worst pitching of the season with 7 runs in 3 innings.
Heizen said, “Bumgarner is a player who has been fighting for a long time as a winner. He knows what to do to prepare himself. What I saw at camp was the best I had ever seen. It looked good. But I don’t know what the problem is. The command was not right, and the pitch was not good. That’s all we saw,” he said, commenting on a disappointing performance.
Didn’t you think about how to leave the bullpen? “We considered dropping him to the bullpen,” he said, “but no one was sure it would be for the best. Here, our team has a lot of left-handed bullpens. When we got him out of the bullpen, we weren’t sure what role he was going to play,” he said, leaving him in the bullpen wasn’t the answer.
Arizona still owes Bumgarner an additional $34 million in salary. From the owner’s point of view, it would have been inconvenient to carry the dead money.
Regarding this, he said, “I explained the situation to the owner group, and the answer that came back was ‘Do what you need to do to win a game’. I took the necessary steps to win the game.”
There will be questions about whether it was necessary to release the team in a situation where it is running at the top of the earth. He said, “I am asking the squad to play with a sense of urgency, and I thought I should do the same. Our team has been fighting really hard so far. I thought I needed to make a decision,” he said.
When asked about the impact Bumgarner’s release would have on the squad, he said, “This is the world of professional sports players.” “Just as parents cannot lie to their children, we cannot lie to our players. They all know. It is unavoidable. If we don’t continue to show good performances, changes will happen.”
Bumgarner’s vacancy will be replaced by Tommy Henry. He has a 6.33 earned run average with 3 home runs, 8 walks and 22 strikeouts in 4 appearances for Triple-A Reno. Brandon Part, who is recording an average ERA of 5.40 in 3 games, is also a candidate.
Hazen explained that Henry took the opportunity first because of scheduling reasons. “We’re going to need all of these guys,” he said, predicting that we’ll see both throw in the big leagues this season.
The fact that there are prospects who deserve a chance in the major leagues right now also made Bumgarner’s release easier. He added,스포츠토토 “If he hadn’t had a player to take over every five days, he would have continued on this path.”