Diamondbacks are non-committal about Madison Bumgarner’s future with the team

Madison Bumgarnerfuture with Arizona Diamondbacks He looks uncertain after another outing by the veteran bowler.

Diamondbacks manager Tori Lovolo gave a non-committal response when asked about the franchise’s plan for Bumgarner, whose ERA swelled to 10.26 with Wednesday’s 14-5 loss to basics.

“I don’t know,” Lovolo told reporters. “I don’t know. As we do with every situation after every start, we meet as employees and then sit down with the front office and think about what to do next.

“That’s what we’ll do at the end of the day. … The staff will sit down and decide what will give us the best option in five days. We do the same thing after every start, and we’ll do it again.”

Bumgarner lasted just three innings in Arizona’s 14-5 loss in St. Louis, yielding seven earned runs on seven hits and four walks. Five balls batted in are allowed at an exit speed of at least 100 mph.

Bumgarner fell to 0-3 this season and scored 19 runs in just 16 2/3 innings over four starts. The four-time fastball’s average speed this season is 89.5 mph, which is down from his average of 91.2 mph in 2022.

“I wish I had some kind of answer,” Bumgarner told reporters. “Not that I won’t look for them—I’ll look for them. But for now, I don’t have anything for you guys. I hope I do. But I don’t.”

Bumgarner, 33, will make $23 million this season, the fourth year of his $85 million five-year deal with the Diamondbacks. The left-hander is set to make $14 million in 2024.

General Manager Mike Hazen said last month that Bumgarner’s salary would not affect his role, emphasizing that the Diamondbacks “need to win baseball games.”

“We were never asked to make decisions based on money or anything like that,” Hazen said. According to the Arizona Republic. “We need to win baseball games. We try to win every baseball game we get out to play. We want the five guys in the tournament to strengthen those points and give us some stability there….”We’ll continue to evaluate it as we go, but we need to win baseball games.”

The Diamondbacks are off to a fast start this season going into Thursday’s game against Padres They are first in the NL West with an 11-8 record, but are 1-3 in Bumgarner’s four starts.

“It’s very difficult,” Lovolo said Wednesday. “The empathic side of me hurts him, I want every pitcher to do well and I know how hard he works. He just grinds.”

“The other side of me is so frustrated. I just want to see everyone do a good job helping us win baseball games, and of course that didn’t happen today.”

Bumgarner, known for his fiery temper on the mound, was also involved in a brief verbal altercation Wednesday with Wilson Contreras After the Cardinals catcher fouled out the field. The two appeared to trade insults before Contreras walked over and flipped his bat emphatically.

Bumgarner did not reveal specific details about what Contreras said or did to upset him, telling reporters, “If you can’t see it, I don’t know how to help,” before finally admitting that he needed a “better show.”

“Contreras plays the way he plays, and we feel a certain way about his style within this club,” said Lovolo. “He does what he does, and you have to accept it.”

He won the world championship three times with giantsBumgarner struggled during his three-plus seasons with the Diamondbacks, going 15-32 with a 5.23 ERA over 69 starts.