Veteran pitcher Madison Bumgarner has made his last appearance of the 2022 Major League Baseball season, Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told reporters Sunday afternoon.
"To be honest with you, Bum is going to be done for the year," Lovullo said. "Bum is shutdown for the year. It just played out that way. He's perfectly healthy. I made the decision that — he had an unbelievable start in his last start, and I just felt like, 'Let's end the year on that and get after a healthy offseason."
Bumgarner made perhaps his best start of the season on Wednesday, allowing just one run on one hit and one walk, and striking out five in the Diamondbacks' 6-1 victory in Los Angeles over the Dodgers. It was Bumgarner's only start of 2022 in which he allowed one run or less over six innings.
It was a season that the 33-year-old, three-time World Series champion would like to forget. Over 30 starts, the veteran posted a 7-15 record, 4.88 ERA and 1.44 WHIP through 158.2 innings. It was the highest WHIP and ERA Bumgarner has ever posted in a full, 162-game season.
With Bumgarner sitting for the remainder of 2022, the Diamondbacks will use his place in the rotation as an opportunity to evaluate younger pitchers that could be a part of the club's plans moving forward.
"We have some other, younger arms that we want to get a look at," Lovullo said. "Bum has worked very hard this year — extremely hard — to get things pushed in the right direction and I felt like that was a really good way to say, 'Look, move off into the offseason with that last start behind him and keep moving forward."
Lovullo also clarified that though Bumgarner won't be pitching again this season, it was not a 'shutdown.' There is nothing wrong with Bumgarner's health, and Lovullo reiterated that Bumgarner is perfectly healthy.
"It's not a 'shutdown," Lovullo said. "That was a bad term. We just have the space to maneuver, and he's made his last start. And I made that decision... There are some youngsters that we want to continue to look at and evaluate."
Bumgarner signed a five-year, $85 million contract with the Diamondbacks, prior to the 2020 Major League Baseball season. He has two years remaining on his deal, running through 2024. He is owed $37 million.
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