Guardians taking significant gamble with Alex Cobb

A lot of attention is given to the Cleveland Guardians lineup, but their starting rotation was a source of concern leading up to the July 30 trade deadline.

Guardians starters had posted a 4.55 ERA entering Tuesday, 24th in the majors. While Tanner Bibee and Ben Lively have been solid, the Guardians have struggled to find another consistent arm in the rotation. Ten different pitchers, including the injured Shane Bieber, have made at least one start for Cleveland this season. The Guardians needed to address the rotation as they look to hold on to the AL Central.

The Guardians addressed that need on Tuesday. Jeff Passan from ESPN first reported that the Guardians were acquiring Alex Cobb from the Giants. Zack Meisel of The Athletic first reported that pitcher Jacob Bresnahan and a player to be named later are heading to San Francisco.

Cobb was an All-Star in 2023, posting a 3.87 ERA and a 1.322 WHiP over his 151.1 innings, striking out 131 batters with 37 walks. However, his season ended after a disastrous outing on Sept. 19 due to a left hip impingement that had bothered him for most of the second half of the season. Cobb underwent surgery on his hip on Oct. 31 and was expected to miss the beginning of the season.

Cobb has yet to pitch in the majors this season as he has battled shoulder soreness and a blister. He had mixed results in his rehab outings, posting a 3.93 ERA and a 1.309 WHiP over his 18.1 innings, striking out 24 batters with seven walks. However, he has not thrown more than 60 pitches in any of his outings.

The Guardians are counting on Cobb to come close to his 2023 form. He is still going to need to build his pitch count back up, something that could take two or three starts. Passan also noted that evaluators have been impressed with Cobb's stuff, even if the minor league results do not indicate as much. Those results will need to come soon as the Guardians look to hold off the Twins and Royals for the division.

The Guardians addressed the rotation by acquiring Cobb, a gamble, albeit one that could pay off handsomely.