Giants Baseball Insider

San Francisco Giants Trade Former All-Star Pitcher to Guardians

The San Francisco Giants are trading a former All-Star to the Cleveland Guardians.

Tyler Maher

Sep 19, 2023; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Alex Cobb throws a pitch.
Sep 19, 2023; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Alex Cobb throws a pitch. / Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
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In a surprising twist, Alex Cobb will not be making his season debut with the San Francisco Giants after all.

Cobb, who has spent the entire year on the injured list recovering from offseason hip surgery, was traded to the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline. The Giants received pitching prospect Jacob Bresnahan and a player to be named later.

The 36-year-old Cobb, who was an All-Star in 2023, was set to make his season debut for San Francisco this weekend against the Cincinnati Reds. Instead, he will join the first-place Guardians, who recently passed the Baltimore Orioles for the best record in the American League.

Cobb adds veteran depth to Cleveland's young rotation, which has its eye on winning the AL Central for the second time in three years. A 12-year MLB veteran, Cobb has playoff experience from the 2013 postseason with the Tampa Bay Rays.

While Cobb was due to return for the Giants this weekend, the club's impressive starting pitching depth made him expendable.

Between Blake Snell, Logan Webb, Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks, Robbie Rays and Hayden Birdsong (who's expected to take Cobb's place), San Francisco already has ample starting pitching.

Cobb is going to be a free agent after this season, so it was San Francisco's last chance to get something in return for him before his likely departure. Bresnahan, a 19-year-old lefty who was just promoted to Single-A, is a young arm with three legitimate pitches and some upside.

He's still a lottery ticket at this stage in his career, but it's a pretty good return for a hurt, aging pitcher who hasn't pitched in nearly a year.

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Tyler Maher
TYLER MAHER

Tyler grew up in Massachusetts and is a huge Boston sports fan, especially the Red Sox. He went to Tufts University and played club baseball for the Jumbos. Since graduating, he has worked for MLB.com, The Game Day, FanDuel and Forbes. When he's not writing about baseball, he enjoys running, traveling, and playing fetch with his golden retriever.

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