The Cleveland Guardians are making a bold move.
Jeff Passan of ESPN reported that the Guardians are acquiring right-handed pitcher Alex Cobb from the San Francisco Giants. According to Zack Meisel of The Athletic, Cleveland will send lefty pitching prospect Jacob Bresnahan and a player to be named later to San Francisco in exchange for Cobb.
Cobb, now 36, has not pitched this season due to offseason hip surgery but is close to returning after completing several rehab starts. He was an All-Star in 2023, finishing with a 7-7 record, a 3.87 ERA, and 131 strikeouts over 28 starts.
Currently leading the AL with a 64-42 record, the Guardians have also traded for a notable outfield talent earlier this week. Cleveland is clearly all-in for a World Series run, aiming for their first since the 2016 MLB season.
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Guardians add starter before deadline, acquire Cobb from Giants
Sticker shock prevented the Guardians from acquiring an elite pitcher at the deadline.
Instead, they chose to bring in an experienced one.
Unable to afford one of the top available starters, the Guardians added much-needed rotation depth by acquiring right-hander Alex Cobb from the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday.
As the AL Central leaders sought a front-of-the-rotation starter, they settled for the 36-year-old Cobb, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since undergoing hip surgery on Oct. 31.
In exchange for Cobb, Cleveland sent left-handed pitching prospect Jacob Bresnahan and a player to be named later to the Giants. Cobb was a teammate of Guardians first-year manager Stephen Vogt with Tampa Bay in 2012.
“He was really good,” Vogt said in Detroit shortly before the trade was announced. “It’s exciting.”
Chris Antonetti, the club’s president of baseball operations, believes Cobb adds another dependable arm to the rotation.
“He’s a really effective major league pitcher when he’s been healthy,” Antonetti said, noting Cobb’s 28 starts in both 2022 and 2023. “He’s got good pitch quality, good stuff, and he knows how to use it. He’s an experienced veteran pitcher that we think can help us, and we’re excited to add him to the group we have.”
Cobb went 7-7 with a 3.87 ERA last season and has a $10 million salary this year. He can become a free agent after the World Series. Over 12 seasons, he is 77-75 with a 3.85 ERA in 230 starts.
In addition to his six seasons with the Rays, Cobb has also pitched for Baltimore and the Los Angeles Angels. He was the winning pitcher against Cleveland in the 2013 AL wild card game.
An All-Star in 2023, Cobb made six minor league starts in July, going 1-1 with a 3.93 ERA while striking out 24 and walking seven in 18 1/3 innings. He was on the verge of returning to the majors but developed a blister on his right index finger during his last minor league rehab outing on Friday.
Antonetti said Cobb will likely make at least one more rehab start before joining Cleveland’s roster.
Cleveland has spent much of the season juggling its rotation after losing ace Shane Bieber to an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery after just two starts. The Guardians also sent starters Logan Allen and Triston McKenzie to the minors after they struggled.
Anticipating a challenging market, they signed free agent Matthew Boyd last month, and the 33-year-old left-hander could soon join the rotation.
Boyd underwent Tommy John surgery on June 28 last year while with Detroit. He has thrown 12 innings in three minor league starts and will pitch for Triple-A Columbus on Thursday.
There were bigger names available, including Jack Flaherty, who was traded by Detroit to the Los Angeles Dodgers. When asked if the price was higher than expected, Antonetti responded, “I think you can infer from that how we felt about other deals. If we felt there were better deals, we would’ve made them. Some of that comes down to how other teams value particular players with us and how we value them.
“And not all players have universally the same value among all teams. So you have to find a trade partner in which you can align on player values, and that’s a really challenging thing to do.”
On Monday, the Guardians acquired outfielder Lane Thomas from the Washington Nationals for three prospects—pitcher Alex Clemmey and infielders José Tena and Rafael Ramirez Jr. Thomas made his debut for Cleveland against Detroit, batting second and starting in right field.
He got his first hit in the eighth inning and scored on José Ramírez’s homer as the Guardians won 5-0.
“He’s unbelievable, playing him and watching him play,” Thomas said of Ramírez, who moved past Albert Belle into second place on Cleveland’s career home run list. “Anytime you get on first base, you’re in scoring position.”
It was a quick turnaround for Thomas, who flew in from Arizona in time for the game and is now in the middle of a playoff chase.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “It seems like they’ve got a good thing going here. I just want to do my part, fit in and get to know everybody over the next couple of months.”
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