Giants activate RHP Alex Cobb from IL, option INF David Villar

Cobb has arguably been the most underrated pitcher in MLB over the past year. Despite some struggles as he tried to pitch through his oblique injury, Cobb has a 3.09 ERA on the season with 76 strikeouts and just 21 walks in 78.2 innings pitched. Since Cobb June 19th of last year, he has racked up 4.3 fWAR (4.3) alongside a 3.07 ERA, 3.02 FIP, and 3.14 xFIP. However, Cobb allowed 13 earned runs across his last four starts before landing on the injured list.

Cobb is the second veteran starter to return to the Giants roster after a stint on the injured list this week. The Giants activated righty Ross Stripling on Sunday. The Giants have leaned on bullpen games in Cobb's absence, although starting pitching prospects Keaton Winn (Giants preseason #18 prospect), Tristan Beck (Giants preseason #19 prospect), and Sean Hjelle (Giants preseason #28 prospect) have excelled in prolonged outings during those games.

Villar returns to the minors amidst his disappointing follow-up to a promising 2022 season. Villar's MLB triple-slash is an ugly .159/.244/.345 with six doubles and five home runs. His struggles at the plate have led him to fall down the depth chart and be relegated to a fringe bench/minor-league role this season. However, after learning to love baseball again, Villar seemed to turn a corner at Triple-A and hit .294/.368/.647 with four extra-base hits in 19 plate appearances since rejoining the big-league club.

The SF Giants have been depleted by injuries to their starting rotation throughout the season. With that in mind, they are happy to welcome Alex Cobb back into the fold as they look to finish the first half of the season strong.