Chicago White Sox: Team should make a run for Madison Bumgarner

The Chicago White Sox could use an upgrade within their rotation and should make a strong push to sign Madison Bumgarner in free agency.

Despite not having Michael Kopech this year, the Chicago White Sox rotation was expected to build off a starting rotation that finished with a 4.83 ERA in 2018. After all, Lucas Giolito was coming off a terrible year in which he had a 6.13 ERA in 32 starts for the team. James Shields had a modest 4.53 ERA in 33 starts but he also allowed 34 home runs and 103 earned runs.

In an effort to fill the void left by Kopech, the team signed Ivan Nova to a one-year deal and essentially mirrored Shield’s 2018 season. Reynaldo Lopez took a step back in 2019 and Dylan Covey continued to make appearances both out of the bullpen and as a starter. Perhaps the biggest surprise came in the form of Giolito, who looked like a completely different pitcher. The 25-year-old finished the season with a 3.41 ERA in 29 starts and struck out 228 batters in 176.2 innings. More importantly, he allowed just 57 free passes, which was quite a reduction from a year ago.

Dylan Cease made his highly-anticipated big league debut on July 3 but finished the year with mixed results as he posted a 5.79 ERA in 14 starts. The Sox are expected to let Nova walk in free agency as they will be getting Kopech back next season but they could still use an upgrade to shore up the rotation.

The 2020 season will see the arrival of top prospect, Luis Robert, so the offense should keep making leaps forward. But the team cannot rely on Lopez who posted downright awful numbers – 35 home runs given up and a 5.38 ERA – his 5.04 FIP suggests that he was a bit unlucky but that shouldn’t prevent the team from being active in the free-agent market with a particular interest in Madison Bumgarner. The White Sox could, certainly, give Gerrit Cole whatever he wants but they could potentially handcuff themselves to a seven-year deal.

Bumgarner, 30, appears to have recovered from his dirt bike accident that limited him to just 17 starts in 2017. He put up great numbers in 34 starts for a bad Giants team in 2019. In 207.2 innings, Bumgarner struck out 203 batters and allowed just 43 free passes while posting a 3.90 ERA. His numbers were extremely similar to his 2014 season, in which he ended up earning World Series MVP.

A closer review of his pitch usage last season indicates that the lefty doesn’t rely as much on his fastball but his primary pitch still sits on average at 91 mph. His fastball produced an opponents’ average of 0.249, 21.8 percent whiff rate, and 20.6 percent strikeout rate. He’s utilized his curveball more in recent years and has had tremendous success with this pitch. With a 2645 rpm spin rate, opponents could do little with on this pitch as they hit just 0.214 while whiffing and striking out at a 33.1 percent and 39.3 percent clip, respectively (StatCast).

Bumgarner is going to be cheaper to sign than Gerrit Cole and could get it done on a 4-5 year deal. He’s still an effective pitcher and could be exactly the veteran pitcher that the White Sox rotation needs to get them back into contention.