OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Big left-hander Madison Bumgarner is staying put with the San Francisco Giants, who instead determined their bullpen depth provided them the best place to make trades before Wednesday’s deadline.
Milwaukee acquired left-hander Drew Pomeranz and righty Ray Black from San Francisco for infield prospect Mauricio Dubon.
“We are pleased to add a veteran presence in Drew Pomeranz and a high-velocity arm in Ray Black to the organization,” Brewers president of baseball operations and general manager David Stearns said.
Until the Giants recently began winning, there had been thoughts Bumgarner — the 2014 World Series MVP — would surely be on the trading block, but he is staying put as San Francisco (54-53) tries to contend in manager Bruce Bochy’s final season before retirement.
Bumgarner refused to get wrapped up in the speculation about whether he would be gone, calling it “just noise.”
“He is a huge tone-setter for our clubhouse,” said Farhan Zaidi, Giants president of baseball operations. “He’s a tone-setter for the organization. I kind of made light of it some of the comments he made about the trade deadline, I wish I could have made those comments. I think he allowed the clubhouse to maintain its focus. We’ve obviously played well this entire month despite the fact there’s been a lot out there about what we might do. And even between the lines and the competitor he is and just the way he sets up the rest of the pitching staff, Boch knowing that he can get an extended outing out of him every fifth day I think has created a lot of latitude in how he has been able to manage the rest of the pen.”
Also Wednesday, San Francisco obtained second baseman Scooter Gennett from the Reds for a player to be named. Cincinnati will send $2.15 million to the Giants to cover much of the $3,153,226 left in Gennett’s $9,775,000 salary. Gennett is expected to join the team Friday at Colorado.
The Brewers were looking to add pitching depth given a decision was expected Tuesday on whether left-hander Gio Gonzalez would need a stint on the injured list after he left his start last Friday against the Cubs with tightness in his pitching shoulder. Pomeranz can work as a starter or reliever.
On Monday, Milwaukee traded for right-hander Jordan Lyles to boost the rotation. Lyles traveled to the Bay Area on Tuesday and was set to start Wednesday night’s interleague game at Oakland. The Brewers lost the series opener 3-2 in 10 innings.
Lyles was a reliever for the NL Central champion Brewers late last year, going 1-0 with a 3.31 ERA in 11 appearances. He had a 9.58 ERA in eight starts since the end of May, leaving him 5-7 overall with a 5.36 ERA.
Pomeranz provides manager Craig Counsell with options. The lefty is 2-9 with a 5.68 ERA in 21 appearances with 17 starts this season, having moved to the bullpen and made four scoreless relief outings most recently.
Dubon, who made his major league debut July 7 at Pittsburgh and played twice for the Brewers, batted .297 with 16 home runs and 47 RBIs in 98 games for Triple-A San Antonio.
The Giants dealt reliever Sam Dyson to Minnesota, former closer Mark Melancon to Atlanta and minor league lefty Jacob Lopez to the Rays for outfielder Joseph McCarthy.
“I would say this is in some ways an endorsement of the depth of some of the guys we have right behind the group that has done so well for us at the major league level,” Zaidi said. “I’ve alluded to that in my comments over the last few weeks that trading from an area of organizational depth to address other needs is something that we’ll probably be looking at. Unsurprisingly, there was a lot of demand for our relievers. It would have been difficult to make some of these deals without the feeling of confidence we have in the guys who are going to be coming up right behind them who have been pitching so well in Double-A and Triple-A this year.”
