MLB Rumors: Philadelphia Phillies Interested In World Series MVP Pitcher In 2019-2020 Free Agency

The Philadelphia Phillies had a disappointing 2019 MLB season, missing the playoffs after the franchise spent big money in free agency. The organization is looking to improve its roster even further this offseason, targeting one of the best players available.

MLB Network’s Jon Morosi said on “Hot Stove” Friday morning that Philadelphia is actively interested in Madison Bumgarner. The left-hander is on the market for the first time since debuting with the San Francisco Giants a decade ago.

Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg are the best available pitchers, likely to earn at least $30 million per season. Bumgarner won’t command nearly the same kind of money, giving Philadelphia a much cheaper option to improve the rotation.

Like Cole and Strasburg, Bumgarner has proven himself to be a terrific postseason pitcher. He won the 2014 World Series MVP award with arguably the greatest individual playoff run in MLB history.

Bumgarner has dealt with injuries over the past few seasons, which has led to a decline in his performance. His 3.90 ERA in 2019 was a career-high, though he did throw over 200 innings for the first time since 2016.

In his first nine seasons, Bumgarner never posted an ERA north of 3.37. He pitched at least 201 innings in every year from 2011-2016 before being limited to 240.2 total innings in 2017 and 2018.

According to Morosi, the Phillies are looking to add a lefty to a rotation that’s dominated by right-handers. All five pitchers that made at least 13 starts for Philadelphia last season were right-handed.

The Phillies finished eighth in the National League in runs scored in 2019. Philadelphia’s rotation had a 4.53 ERA, ranking 11th in the NL.

Philadelphia gave Bryce Harper a record-setting $330 million contract in free agency last offseason. There are rumors that the Phillies could pursue Cole, but they aren’t considered to be one of the frontrunners to land the most sought-after pitcher.

The Phillies went 81-81 in the 2019 season, failing to post a winning record for the eighth consecutive year.