CLEVELAND — In the final hours before the Major League Baseball trade deadlines passes, the Cleveland Guardians struck a deal with the San Francisco Giants to add another arm to their starting rotation.
Cleveland has traded for veteran right-handed pitcher Alex Cobb, the club confirmed this afternoon. ESPN's Jeff Passan was the first to report the news.
Fans may remember Cobb from his dominant performance with Tampa Bay in the 2013 American League Wild Card Game at Progressive Field, when he shut down the Cleveland Indians' lineup in the Rays' 4-0 win.
Though that moment was over a decade ago, Cobb showed last year that he still had a lot left in the tank, being named to his first All-Star team. The 36-year-old made 28 starts for the Giants in 2023, ending the season with a 7-7 record and a 3.87 ERA over 149 2/3 innings pitched.
Cobb has a career record of 77-75 with a 3.85 ERA while pitching for Tampa Bay, Baltimore, the Los Angeles Angels, and San Francisco. Unfortunately, he has yet to pitch in 2024 after recovering from hip labrum surgery in November. He was set to return to pitch for the Giants in May before being shut down due to shoulder soreness.
Though Guardians fans had their eyes on the top prizes in the starting pitching trade market, such as Detroit starters Tarik Skubal and Jack Flaherty, Cobb represents a tried and true method the organization has employed for decades at this point: a low-risk, high-reward option that doesn't break the bank or the farm system.
According to MLB Insider Joel Sherman, the Guards plan for Cobb to make one more rehab start in the minor leagues before joining the starting rotation.
Cleveland will send back left-handed pitching prospect Jacob Bresnahan and a player to be named later to complete the deal. Bresnahan, a 13th-round draft pick in 2023, boasts a 2.70 ERA across 12 minor-league starts this season.
With the addition of Cobb, the Guardians now have plenty of options for how to fill out their starting rotation as they head into the final few months of the regular season. Veteran Matthew Boyd is ready to join the big league roster soon after several rehab starts.
Barring another trade before the deadline passes, the organization may yet believe that Triston McKenzie and/or Logan Allen could contribute in the rotation down the stretch as the young starters look to right their own proverbial ships in Columbus after early season struggles.
