The SF Giants are holding their breath after right-handed pitcher Alex Cobb took a line drive off his left knee during Saturday's spring training game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Cobb laid on the ground for a bit and was removed from the game, although he was able to walk off the field under his own power.
Cobb is slated to be the Giants' number two starter this season and has been having a promising spring. While Cobb has a 6.75 ERA in three appearances, he has racked up 13 strikeouts in eight innings pitched while allowing just two walks and one home run. On Saturday, when Cobb took a line drive from Miguel Vargas off his left shin, the righty had already recorded five strikeouts in 3+ innings pitched.
Last season, Cobb was an underrated part of the Giants excellent rotation. He recorded a 3.73 ERA with 151 strikeouts in 149.2 innings pitched and, according to ERA estimators like FIP (2.80), xFIP (2.89), and xERA (3.15) he suffered from significant batted-ball luck. Given how horribly San Francisco's defense performed last season, it's easy to see how Cobb's ERA was higher than his performance was worth.
After failing to re-sign left-handed starter Carlos Rodón in free agency this offseason, the Giants doubled down on Cobb's ability to lead their rotation alongside Logan Webb. However, that put a lot of pressure on 35-year-old Cobb who has been unable to amass 150 innings pitched in a season since 2018.
Nevertheless, SF Giants starter Alex Cobb had a scary moment on Saturday when a line drive from Dodgers infielder Miguel Vargas went off his left shin. Able to walk off the field under his own power, Cobb hopefully avoided any injury that could delay his ramp-up for Opening Day.
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