All-Star RHP Alex Cobb says SF Giants will acquire Shohei Ohtani

SF Giants RHP Alex Cobb was once teammates with Angels star Shohei Ohtani, and he said he believes they will reunite again after the 2023 MLB All-Star Game.

Marc Delucchi | Jul 12, 2023

All-Star RHP Alex Cobb says SF Giants will acquire Shohei Ohtani /

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The SF Giants are expected to be one of the biggest threats to sign two-way star Shohei Ohtani away from the Los Angeles Angels this offseason. Despite the Phoenix Suns' attempt to sabotage the Giants' free-agent pitch, they still have a compelling case to make. Giants right-handed pitcher Alex Cobb told reporters during the All-Star Game on Tuesday night that he wants San Francisco to pull out all the stops.

“He’d be huge,” told The San Francisco Chronicle's John Shea and Bay Area News Group's Evan Webeck. "Whatever you thought Judge would have been as the face of the Giants, he would eclipse that with the whole country. You look for people to be the face of your franchise, not only the skill but off the field, what type of people they are. I’ve never been around anybody who wants to win more than Shohei. I want to win as much as anybody, but he would do anything to win. So I’d be thrilled if there was some avenue for us to get him at the deadline and sign him long-term during this offseason.”

Cobb was teammates with Ohtani during the 2021 season with the Angels and got to see the best two-way player in MLB history up close. On Tuesday, Cobb faced his former teammate in the All-Star Game, issuing a lead-off walk to him in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Cobb added that he's "already campaigning" for the Giants to go all-in for Ohtani whenever the opportunity arises. While the Giants improved farm system could build a compelling offer to acquire Ohtani before this summer's MLB trade deadline, the Angels are not expected to make him available. After all, even if the probability that Ohtani re-signs with the Angels is low, it's hard to justify giving up whatever miniscule probability that is.

Whether or not Shohei Ohtani will be available to the SF Giants in July or November, starting pitcher Alex Cobb is doing everything he can to will the two sides together. In Cobb's most direct statement to reporters, he was adamant about Ohtani's future. “He’s coming to San Francisco.”

Published Jul 12, 2023

MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).