As he pondered what to do with struggling left-hander Madison Bumgarner, Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen kept coming back to the word “urgency.”
“I ask our players and staff to urgently think about how we will play and attack,” said Hazen on Thursday. “And so I must do the same. I can’t be a hypocrite and ask for it and not do it in my job.”
The Diamondbacks drafted Bumgarner Thursday, a move that means the team is likely to eat up more than $34 million in salary over the next two seasons. Her willingness to walk away from him despite the financial loss was partly based on how poorly Bumgarner pitched and how enticing the options the young pitcher had behind him were.
But it was also done because of what the Diamondbacks seem to think about themselves. Sitting in first place in the National League West three weeks into the season despite losing three of Bumgarner’s four starts might justify that belief.
“Where we are right now,” Hazen said, “requires a sense of urgency.”
Bumgarner’s struggles weren’t new this season. He posted a 7.12 ERA in his last 10 starts last year. His stuff often didn’t seem competitive; According to one source, players on an opposing team talked about adjusting to the quality of his stuff the same way they would adjust to a positional player.
It was a steep fall for Bumgarner, the former San Francisco Giants postseason hero. Though his decline had already begun when the Diamondbacks signed him to an $85 million fie-year deal in December 2019, they had hoped certain adjustments could get him back in tip-top shape. It never came to that.
“I don’t know,” Hazen said when asked to understand Bumgarner’s downfall. “And honestly, we’ve all lost a lot of sleep trying to answer that question. I haven’t replied to that yet. And we are here today. I have no answer for you. It just didn’t work out.”
Bumgarner’s relationship with the coaching staff had deteriorated; He and pitching coach Brent Strom never agreed. Bumgarner rarely used the fixture lists provided to him by the team’s support staff.
His stuff never seemed to reach a level that would allow him to be as successful as he has been at San Francisco for so long, perhaps a result of the considerable mileage he has accumulated for years with the Giants, both during the regular season as well, often well into October.
“He’s been an elite competitor in this league for a long time,” said Hazen. “He knows what he has to do to prepare. I felt like he was in the best shape he’s ever come into spring training this year. He looks amazing. … We were struggling with controlling the ball and we were struggling with some stuff swinging in the zone and missing.”
Based on the way the Diamondbacks talked about Bumgarner before taking him on, they thought they were getting a player who would lead a young pitching team both on and off the field. Club officials have complained that they received neither version.
“I think we need a better process for our reviews,” said Hazen. “We need a better process to determine where things stand when we add guys to our team.
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“We’re going to be deconstructing a number of different areas, both on the performance side of things, the coaching side of things, the front office side of things, all of those things. But in the end, look, unfortunately – I’ve been doing this for more than 20 years – I’ve been a part of some of the ones that didn’t work. Sometimes you don’t really assume, ‘That’s exactly what happened.’”
For now, the first leap in Bumgarner’s job goes to Tommy Henry, the young left-hander who started nine games for the Diamondbacks last season. But at some point, right-hander Brandon Pfaadt should also get a chance. Both pitchers, Hazen said, factored in the decision to part ways with Bumgarner.
Pfaadt is the more respected prospect of the pair — and one of the most anticipated pitching prospects in the majors. Hazen understood questions about why it wasn’t Pfaadt before assuring reporters his time will come.
“Brandon will serve here and he will be a very good player for us,” said Hazen. “And it will come. But this second it will not come right.”
By cutting ties with Bumgarner, the Diamondbacks set a new club dead-money record, surpassing the $22 million they expended in firing right-hander Russ Ortiz in the 2006 season.
But while the move caught some in the game off guard, it seemed less surprising to those close to the Diamondbacks. Hazen kept coming back to the way his club played – and the need to reciprocate that effort.
“Our competitiveness has been proven every day that I’ve watched us go out and play,” said Hazen. “I think that’s been the manager’s calling card since he got here. And I think the players believe in that. I think there is an energy about this group that they are motivated to play together.
He later added: “These guys play really hard and well and they deserve that we show the same urgency as they do.”
