Guardians Trade for Alex Cobb
We got right-handed Matthew Boyd
The Guardians continue to stockpile rehabbing veteran pitchers as fans wait to see if there is a bigger move coming, trading Jacob Bresnahan and a player to be named later to the San Francisco Giants for 36 year-old right-handed pitcher Alex Cobb.
Guardians are sending the Giants pitching prospect Jacob Bresnahan and a player to be named later, per source. https://t.co/jX74vY7hAm
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) July 30, 2024
Cobb has been rehabbing this season recovering from an offseason hip laburm surgery and issues with shoulder soreness. He had a good rehab start for the Giants at Triple-A but then popped a blister, pushing his expect arrival in the bigs until next weekend (8/6-8/9).
Guardians plan for Cobb to make 1 more rehab start upon joining the organization and then join the rotation thereafter.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) July 30, 2024
These are the kind of moves that allow Cleveland to not have to rely on Logan Allen, Triston McKenzie and Joey Cantillo figuring things out, and improve from Carlos Carrasco’s poor production. But, obviously, the ideal is not for Matthew Boyd or Alex Cobb to start a playoff game if that can be avoided.
Cobb had a 4.01 FIP last year with a 7.79/2.20 K/BB/9. He has a career 54.5% groundball rate playing off of his best two pitches - a sinker and a splitter. This mix should play well with the Guardians’ excellent infield defense. It may also be a reason to continue playing Brayan Rocchio at short (sorry, folks) or to give Gabriel Arias another shot there (sorry again, folks). Or, perhaps the Guardians have a move in mind for a defensive-minded. shortstop still.
Meanwhile, Bresnahan is another 19 year old, this time a left-hander who had a 2.54 ERA in the Arizona Complex League and was just recently promoted to Lynchburg Low-A. He’s 6’4” 195 lbs and interesting but as a 13 round pick, I can see why the Guardians were willing to lose the interesting teenager for some veteran depth where they are right now in the competitive process.
Will Cobb be all she wrote for today? Is Cobb a hedge piece if Boyd doesn’t stay healthy or for if another deal for a more exciting arm falls through? Perhaps and perhaps. Cobb and Boyd give the Guardians some veteran value and Cobb threw 151 innings last season. If this is it, Cleveland is placing a lot of faith in Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams and Ben Lively as your top three for a playoff rotation, plus a bullpen they’re hoping will be excellent. I hope there is more to come; if not for a starter because of inflated prices, then perhaps for a bullpen arm to guard against regression or dead arms among the rookie relievers the team has been relying on so heavily.