Guardians Clearly Made the Right Decision With This Pitcher

Last season at the MLB trade deadline, the Cleveland Guardians landed pitcher Alex Cobb in a deal with the San Francisco Giants.

The Guardians were hoping that Cobb would help solidify their starting rotation, even though the right-hander had not pitched since 2023 at the time.

Cobb was coming off of hip surgery, but he was expected to be ready to return shortly after Cleveland acquired him. And he was, as he made his debut on Aug. 9, but he ultimately started just three regular-season games for the Guardians due to some other nagging injuries.

The 37-year-old did end up starting two playoff games for Cleveland, going 0-2 with a 7.94 ERA.

Well, the Guardians allowed Cobb to walk via free agency, as the veteran signed a one-year, $15 million deal with the AL Central rival Detroit Tigers.

The Tigers were hoping that Cobb would bolster a pitching staff that was already pretty good. After all, it's headlined by Tarik Skubal, and Detroit also reunited with Jack Flaherty.

However, Cobb is, once again, experiencing some durability issues, as the former All-Star will not be ready for opening day due to a hip injury.

Remember: Cobb already had hip surgery in 2023, so the fact that he is dealing with problems in that area again is obviously cause for massive concern.

It also demonstrates that, for as much as Cleveland still needs pitching help, the Guardians made the right decision by allowing him to walk via free agency.

Even though it's only a one-year deal, that's a whole lot of money for someone who made five starts between the regular season and playoffs in 2024. Plus, he's approaching 40.

Not only that, but Cobb has had difficulty staying healthy throughout his entire MLB career, so Cleveland was definitely wise in not re-signing him.

Of course, one can then make the argument that the Guardians never should have traded for him last summer to begin with, but what's done is done now.

The important thing is that Cleveland did not double down on Cobb, whose 2025 status is sadly up in the air at the moment.

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