Tampa Bay Rays: Madison Bumgarner among options to fill Glasnow void

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DENVER, CO – MAY 7: Starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner #40 of the San Francisco Giants delivers to home plate during the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on May 7, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /

With Tyler Glasnow on the IL, the Tampa Bay Rays are left with just 2 starting pitchers for the foreseeable future. Could they be in the market for another starting pitcher with considerable experience? Possibly, but they have options…

He is a 4-time All-Star with 3 World Series rings to his name. He has nearly 1,700 career innings under his belt along with over 1,600 strikeouts. His name is Madison Bumgarner and he may be the answer on the bump for the Tampa Bay Rays.

The San Francisco Giant are in last place and are teetering on the brink of a full-blown fire sale with Madison Bumgarner being one of their most coveted assets. The Tampa Bay Rays, on the other hand, are in first place in front of the New York Yankees and the defending world champion Red Sox. The Rays are also without the services of Tyler Glasnow for the foreseeable future and must find a way to account for his early season successes which include 6 wins and a sub 2.00 earned run average.

The Giants have a depleted farm system and the Rays lay claim to one of the deepest farm systems in all of baseball. The Giants need prospects and the Rays need high-caliber pitching. See where I’m going with this? It is a match made in heaven.

While it may seem like a perfect match, the Rays do have other options which include Yonny Chirinos, Jalen Beeks, and Ryan Yarbrough. Jake Faria, who had a breakout campaign in 2017 and struggled mightily in 2018 would seem like a logical choice to rejoin the rotation, but he has struggled to find any success after opening the season in Durham.

Across 23.2 IP at Durham, Faria has struggled to a 7.23 ERA. While his 33 strikeouts are impressive, his 15 walks are equally unimpressive. His WHIP is approaching 2.00 and opponents are hitting .310 against him. So, it is fair to say that Faria is out of the question which means that the options are likely Bumgarner, Chirinos, Beeks, and Yarbrough.

Dallas Keuchel’s name has been mentioned, but a more immediate fix would benefit the Rays as they await Glasnow’s return. Keuchel would have to be stretched out in Durham for what would likely be half of Glasnow’s absence, if not longer.

So, lets take a look at the most logical options the Rays have to choose from: