DETROIT — On an electric October evening at Progressive Field in 2013, fans twirled red towels and marveled at the 100 mph heaters a rookie named Danny Salazar zipped toward home plate.
The young pitcher who stood tallest that night, though, was Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Alex Cobb.
More than a decade later, Cobb is still seeking a return trip to the postseason. And now he’ll be tasked with helping guide the Cleveland Guardians to October, to set the stage for more of those high-stakes autumn nights at a buzzing ballpark.
It’s quite a gamble, considering Cobb hasn’t pitched in a big-league game in 10 months. Matthew Boyd, the Guardians’ other veteran solution, hasn’t appeared in a game in 13 months.
The Guardians will enter August with the best record in the American League and perhaps, depending on how the Phillies–Yankees series shakes out, the best record in baseball. They were positioned to swing big, with a healthy farm system, clear roster deficiencies, an energized fan base that has already fueled 11 sellouts, and a legitimate opportunity to end a championship hex that dates back to three weeks before Dewey “beat” Truman.
With all of that in mind, the Guardians’ trade deadline was … fine. Certainly not overwhelming. Maybe just whelming.
Their formula for winning this season is clear: Hand the bullpen a lead and get out of the way. Timely hitting. Aggressive base running. Sound defense. Juuuust enough starting pitching to survive.
Lane Thomas boosts the lineup’s potential, with an ability to obliterate left-handed pitching, steal bases and thrive in right field. If he can handle righties at all or rediscover his home run stroke from 2023, that would pay significant dividends.
Lane Thomas had a single in four at-bats in his Guardians debut on Tuesday. (Duane Burleson / Getty Images)
It would behoove the Guardians to learn if Kyle Manzardo can help them this season. Maybe Juan Brito, too, though his defensive assignment is unclear (which is why he seemed like a sensible trade candidate). Team president Chris Antonetti said the club has not held conversations with Andrés Giménez about shifting to shortstop, to incorporate Brito or any other second baseman into the fold.
Thomas was one of the better position players moved at the deadline, along with Isaac Paredes, Randy Arozarena, Jazz Chisholm and Jorge Soler. The A’s, years from contending and settling into a permanent home, inexplicably held onto slugger Brent Rooker, who will turn 30 in November. The Angels, even more inexplicably, kept Taylor Ward and Luis Rengifo. The White Sox, flirting with the worst record in MLB history, clutched onto outfielder Luis Robert Jr.
It’s far more difficult to forecast what Cobb can offer to a rotation that has limped through the first four months of the season. Cleveland’s brass has had to scramble to sort out its pitching situation at least two out of every five days, and the solutions are Cobb, Boyd and, maybe, eventually, if their performance improves at Triple A, Triston McKenzie or Logan Allen.
The market was strange, though. League sources from several teams were surprised at the Detroit Tigers’ ultimate (modest) return for Jack Flaherty based on what Detroit’s front office was seeking in their own conversations. Of course, every organization values players differently. Flaherty was the most productive starter moved, yet the Toronto Blue Jays netted a haul from the Houston Astros for fellow rental pitcher Yusei Kikuchi. Other starters dealt ahead of the deadline included Frankie Montas (to the Milwaukee Brewers), Trevor Rogers (to the Baltimore Orioles, for quite a haul), Paul Blackburn (to the New York Mets) and Trevor Richards (to the Minnesota Twins).
High quantity, not a ton of high quality.
So, the Guardians hope Cobb and Boyd are the answers. Kai Correa and Craig Albernaz, Cleveland’s field coordinator and bench coach, respectively, coached on the San Francisco Giants’ staff during Cobb’s first two years in San Francisco (2022-23). Guardians manager Stephen Vogt rose through the Rays’ system with Cobb, starting in Vogt’s first professional year in 2007 with the short-season Hudson Valley Renegades and their manager, Matt Quatraro (now the Kansas City Royals’ skipper).
Cobb, who will turn 37 in October, owns a 3.85 ERA across 12 big-league seasons, with ERAs in the past three seasons of 3.76, 3.73 and 3.87. He was an All-Star for the first time last summer. He throws a sinker, splitter and curveball and he induces a ton of ground balls, which should pair well with Cleveland’s stellar infield defense.
But, well, he hasn’t pitched this year. The Guardians anticipate he’ll make one more rehab start before joining their roster. Cobb underwent surgery to fix a torn labrum in his left hip last October. He convinced the Giants to start him this season on the 15-day injured list rather than the 60-day list, sensing an early-season return. Unfortunately, he developed nerve irritation in his right shoulder. More recently, he suffered a finger blister.
Boyd will pitch for Triple-A Columbus on Thursday. The Guardians’ rotation should have two new faces in it within the next two weeks. That’s a necessary development. It’s just, the options they’re pinning their hopes on are past their prime and returning from significant injuries. Could they be better than Carlos Carrasco and some combination of Joey Cantillo and Xzavion Curry? Sure, maybe, who knows? Will they be enough to help the team get to October? That’s what matters. Either way, the Guardians are banking on Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams anchoring the group.
It’s a trade deadline with some sensible additions, but lacking the flair that this club has carried through the first four months of the season. If Cobb stands tall again at Progressive Field in October, no one will remember medium-sized swings at the trade deadline.
(Top photo of Alex Cobb: Darren Yamashita / USA Today)
