In 2014, San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner had one of the most memorable World Series performances in history.

The imposing left-hander won both of his starts against the Kansas City Royals in Game 1 and Game 5, then threw five innings of two-hit ball in Game 7 on a mere two days of rest to give the Giants their third title in five years.

For the series, Bumgarner scattered nine hits across 21 innings of work, giving up just one run and striking out 17 in what very well could be the most dominant World Series for any pitcher in history.

Fast-forward to 2019. San Francisco's mercurial 29-year-old ace is in the last year of his contract, and has made 38 starts over the course of the past two seasons. For comparison, Bumgarner–a notorious workhorse–made at least 31 starts in every season between 2011 and 2016.

The Giants are coming off of a fourth place finish in the NL West. It is unlikely that the Giants can contend this season with an aging roster and below-average group of outfielders.

But Bumgarner himself continues to perform. He has yet to post an ERA above 3.40 since arriving in the big leagues full-time. Although he just posted his lowest K/9 since 2010 (7.6), Bumgarner may be galvanized by heading to a contender, much in the same vein as Cole Hamels when he was dealt to the Cubs last July.

With Bumgarner set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season, he will almost certainly be wearing a new uniform at season's end. The question is, which one?

New York Yankees

After consecutive heartbreaks in October, the Yankees are primed for a World Series run in 2019 and traded for former Seattle Mariners ace James Paxton in order to bolster the rotation.

However, they have already had numerous early-season setbacks. Luis Severino was scratched from his Spring Training debut with shoulder inflammation and is unlikely to be ready for the regular season, while veteran lefty C.C. Sabathia will also begin the year on the injured list.

New York was already going to be asking a lot of Masahiro Tanaka and J.A. Happ in their starting rotation, but now the pressure has really ratcheted up, especially with concerns that the Severino diagnosis may be something more serious when he is reevaluated in two weeks.

General Manager Brian Cashman was the subject of some ire from Yankee fans for his reluctance in pursuing Manny Machado and Bryce Harper. But if Cashman sees a need to address his starting rotation, he would be wise not to miss a shot at Bumgarner.

The Yankees also have expendable assets, and given their depth they can afford to package top prospect Estevan Florial along with young pitching or Miguel Andujar, all of which would satisfy San Francisco's positional needs.

Milwaukee Brewers

The Giants and Brewers were in talks for a deal centered around Bumgarner in January, but nothing ever materialized.

Milwaukee is coming off of a stunning run to the NL Central division title and an NLCS appearance, and restocked in the offseason by signing Yasmani Grandal and re-signing Mike Moustakas.

Most of the core positional players and bullpen arms are returning, but the rotation could be Milwaukee's weakness.

Jhoulys Chacin was reliable, but also outperformed his peripherals. Chase Anderson battled through injuries to be somewhat effective, but durability continues to be a question. And Milwaukee lost the surprisingly stellar Wade Miley to free agency.

The Brewers will get Jimmy Nelson back after a full year off, and possess some talented arms will be converted to starters in Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes. Still, they have arguably the weakest rotation in the Central, and are definitely lacking in comparison to the Cubs and Cardinals.

A return to talks for Bumgarner would hardly be surprising. Milwaukee could offer one of Burnes or Woodruff along with their no. 2 prospect–outfielder Corey Ray–as a starting point at the very least.

Milwaukee is expected to experience some overall regression this season. But a trade for Bumgarner would balance the rotation and give the Brewers a bona fide ace to make a final push for October.

Atlanta Braves

The Braves are another team that has plentiful pitching talent–notably Sean Newcomb, Touki Toussaint, Mike Soroka, Kyle Wright and Ian Anderson–but a shortage of established arms.

Atlanta may be willing to wait and see how guys like Kevin Gausman and Toussaint perform over the course of a full season before addressing the rotation. They also might still make a run at free agent Dallas Keuchel, seeing as they are $80 million under the luxury tax threshold this season.

But with a system as loaded as Atlanta's, they could easily make a deal for Bumgarner. The pertinent questions will be where they stand in a loaded NL East in July, as well as if GM Alex Anthopoulos (who has shown a real hesitance to deal prospects) is willing to take a risk on potentially having Bumgarner for just half a season.