Reds rumors: Cincinnati Reds interested in Madison Bumgarner

The latest Reds rumors are sure to get the fanbase fired up. Rumor has it that the Cincinnati Reds are interested in free agent pitcher Madison Bumgarner.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network is reporting that the Cincinnati Reds are interested in free agent pitcher Madison Bumgarner. These latest Reds rumors come on the heels of Cincinnati missing out on starter Zack Wheeler, who signed with the Philadelphia Phillies earlier today.

Cincinnati isn’t alone in their pursuit of MadBum. The Atlanta Braves, Minnesota Twins, Los Angles Angels, San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, and Philadelphia Phillies are also listed among the teams interested in Bumgarner’s services.

After missing out on Wheeler, a lot of fan speculated that the Reds front office would turn their attention back to the corner outfield spots, or possibly shortstop. After all, Nicholas Castellanos, Marcell Ozuna, and Didi Gregorius offer clear upgrades to the paltry Cincinnati offense that ranked near the bottom of the National League last season.

However, the latest Reds rumors seem to indicate that Cincinnati’s insistence on adding another starter didn’t end with the loss of Wheeler to Philadelphia. Bumgarner, a left-hander, is a three-time World Series Champion, a four-time All-Star, and took home the World Series MVP in 2014. This past season, Bumgarner went 8-8 with a 3.90 ERA in 34 starts.

According to FanGraphs, Bumgarner’s fastball still sits in the low-90s, which it has throughout his entire career. However, last season, he saw an uptick in velocity on his slider, his best breaking pitch. Bumgarner doesn’t have an extremely high strikeout-rate like Gerrit Cole or Luis Castillo, but he doesn’t surrender many free passes, putting up a walk-rate of just 1.86 last year.

If the latest Reds rumors are true, then it’ll cost Cincinnati a pretty penny to acquire Madison Bumgarner. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the southpaw is said to looking at a contract over $100M. One source suggested MadBum could take home more than Wheeler.

If the Cincinnati Reds do land Bumgarner, they’d instantly have one of, if not the, best rotations in all of Major League Baseball. Dick Williams and Nick Krall have shown to be aggressive in the early going, and Reds Country is hopeful for another free agent signing very soon. Might it be Madison Bumgarner?