SAN FRANCISCO — For the first time in his career, Madison Bumgarner is a free agent.
He’s already turned down the Giants’ first offer to return to San Francisco, leaving fans to wonder if the franchise will make a more serious effort to bring him back to the club.
Bumgarner officially rejected a one-year, $17.8 million qualifying offer on Thursday to remain in a high-profile class of free agent starting pitchers that includes World Series standouts Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg.
After retaining Bumgarner at the trade deadline, there was no question the Giants would extend Bumgarner a qualifying offer, which is a measure in place in Major League Baseball that allows teams to recover a compensatory draft pick for losing a valued player in free agency.