Trade rumors regarding Giants pitchers Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith are far from over.
One day after the two dominated in the Giants' 4-2 win over the Rockies, their names surfaced with one of the most surprising teams in baseball. Are the Twins eyeing the left-handers?
USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported Wednesday morning that the Twins are showing "strong interest" in Bumgarner. But, ESPN's Jeff Passan quickly refuted the notion.
Instead, Passan says it's Smith who is on the Twins' radar, and the two teams haven't engaged on talks regarding Bumgarner in weeks.
While the San Francisco Giants' interest in dealing Madison Bumgarner remains clear, the Minnesota Twins haven't engaged with them in high-level talks in recent weeks, a source with knowledge of discussions tells ESPN. Giants reliever Will Smith is on the Twins' radar as of now.— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 26, 2019
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Talks between the Twins and Giants on a possible Bumgarner trade were dubbed "premature" by Darren Wolfson, a sports reporter for KSTP-TV in Minnesota, less than two weeks ago. Adding Smith, though, would make plenty of sense for the Twins.
Minnesota's starting rotation has the fourth-best ERA in baseball at 3.74. The Twins' bullpen, however, hasn't been quite as dominant. Their relievers have a combined 4.40 ERA, which ranks 16th in the majors. Smith can be the perfect piece for the playoffs.
[RELATED: Giants, Dodgers not ruling out Will Smith trade]
After Tuesday night's win, Smith is now a perfect 21-for-21 in save opportunities. He's 1-0 with a 1.95 ERA and has 49 strikeouts in 32.1 innings pitched.
While Bumgarner is sure to have his suitors before the July 31 trade deadline, it could be another lefty that brings the Giants the better haul.
