With all of the hubbub at the 2019 MLB Winter Meetings centralized around the starting pitching market, it is fair that Madison Bumgarner wants to be included in that conversation. What remains to be seen, however, is if his reported price tag of nine figures will be a fair market value for the veteran left-hander.

The former San Francisco Giants ace is reportedly letting interested teams know that due to the skyrocketing value of starting pitchers this offseason, set off by the monster $240+ million deal signed by Stephen Strasburg and the approximated $300 million deal that Gerrit Cole will get, he deserves to finally be able to cash in.

While in San Francisco, MadBum had been criminally underpaid, always taking discounts to remain on a team that got him three World Series titles but has struggled recently to field any sort of a competitive team. With a potential reunion with the Giants always a potential option, Bumgarner looks to be as good as gone this offseason, with his sights set on signing with a playoff-competing team that has the money to make him feel appreciated, finally.

With a plethora of teams looking to sign the 2014 WS Most Valuable Player, they should also be wary of bringing him to their team, especially if on some sort of a five-year deal worth over $100 million. While Bumgarner got very comfortable playing near the Bay for the Giants, he may not become as good of a veteran presence as many are making him out to be moving forward.

Among the interested teams, the Arizona Diamondbacks, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins, and Philadelphia Phillies look to be the most interested, in varying amounts. Any new deal for Bumgarner could be slightly around the deal that Zack Wheeler just signed, which was for five years and came out around $118 million with the Phillies.

Last year at the July trade deadline, there were teams rumored to be involved with the Giants in trading for him, although a deal never came to fruition. While the Giants would have been very smart to try to get some sort of value and return on Bumgarner leaving the upcoming offseason, it was ultimately the right move for the team to do right by their veteran starter and not ship him out to finish out the year.

Bumgarner looks to be rising towards the top of the remaining crop of starting pitchers looking for new teams, which should ultimately drive up his value. While a deal does not necessarily look to be on the immediate horizon, it would not necessarily be a surprise to see MadBum sign a new contract before the Winter Meetings are over.