Will Madison Bumgarner make a comeback?

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

Madison Bumgarner, the forgotten man. Four years removed from the San Francisco Giants and four weeks removed from the Arizona Diamondbacks, Bumgarner is out of sight and out of mind, a cruel reminder that sticking in the big leagues is hard.

Even for a 33-yearold three-time World Series champion who once was on top of the baseball world.

Last we saw of the decorated pitcher, he was having all kinds of command and velocity issues as batters were reaching base at an alarmingly high level.

His five-year commitment to the Diamondbacks ended early in Year 4 because of awful numbers in four starts – 0-3 record, 10.26 ERA, 25 hits, 15 walks, 16 2/3 innings –a disturbing and ongoing trend that carried over from 2022.

We’ve heard hardly a peep on Bumgarner, who’s still owed $36 million from the Diamondbacks but could sign with any other club for the prorated league minimum. Nevertheless, no reports or rumors have emerged about teams expressing interest.

“I haven’t heard anything,” a National League scout said. “His name never comes up anymore, so that’s probably a sign.”

It would seem the Rangers would take a chance on Bumgarner. Nobody knows his value to a playoff team more than Bruce Bochy, who’s in his first year managing Texas, currently atop the American League West, thanks largely to a rebuilt pitching staff. And Brian Sabean has a voice with the Yankees in his first year as an adviser to general manager Brian Cashman.

If it’s not the Rangers or Yankees, it could be another team that knows Bumgarner’s historic postseason history – highlighted by his 0.25 World Series ERA, lowest of any pitcher in history with at least 25 innings – and would be willing to give him an opportunity to resurrect his career.

Third baseman Evan Longoria, who was Bumgarner’s teammate for two seasons in San

Francisco and joined the Diamondbacks this season, had a long conversation with Bumgarner and hinted we haven’t heard the last of the fourtime All-Star.

“I won’t tell you what all that we talked about, but I will say that I’ve been around him enough to know he’s not a quitter by any means,” Longoria said. “There’s some part of me that says he’s going to address some of the things he needs to address, get back right and give it another go.

“That’s just me talking. That has nothing to do with what he said. Just from the mentality of that guy, he’s a competitor. He’s not a quitter. So I think if we do see him