Bumgarner Expressing Interest in WBC

Oct 10, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner (40) pitches against the Chicago Cubs in the fifth inning in game three of the 2016 NLDS playoff baseball series at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, Madison Bumgarner is considering joining Team USA in the World Baseball Classic sometime after the first round.

Bumgarner expressed interest last April but has yet to confirm whether he will accept or decline the offer. When the tournament was held on the ace’s home grounds of AT&T Park in 2013, Bumgarner turned down an invitation to participate due to the length of and his performance during the 2012 postseason.

While San Francisco’s ace pitched a gem in Game 2 of the World Series against the Detroit Tigers, he looked nothing like his heroic self in the NLDS and NLCS, allowing a combined ten runs in eight innings.

Instead of representing the United States alongside teammates Jeremy Affeldt and Ryan Vogelsong, Bumgarner justifiably took time off to fine-tune his game fresh off his second championship in three seasons.

Bumgarner’s decision to rest and prepare for the regular season paid dividends, holding opposing hitters to a slash line of .181/.235/.290 in the first month of the season while boasting an excellent 1.55 ERA over 40.2 innings.

While the interest is present, Bumgarner may still decline the invitation to join Brandon Crawford and Buster Posey come March. While Bumgarner pitched well in the first month of the season, Vogelsong noticeably struggled, ending the month of April with a 6.23 ERA over 30.1 innings.

Furthermore, Bumgarner’s workload already ranks among the league's highest. In addition to throwing 200+ innings every season since 2011, the lefty has pitched an additional a career 102.1 innings in the postseason, 14 of which came in last year’s starts against the New York Mets and the Chicago Cubs. In 2016, Bumgarner ranked fourth in the league in total innings pitched with 226.2 while leading the league in games started and batters faced.

Bumgarner must decide whether he will participate sooner rather than later, as the rosters are due next month. Pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training in February, and the WBC stretches from March 9th to March 22nd with the first round ending on March 12th.

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