Alex Cobb leaves Guardians for AL Central rival

A return to the Cleveland Guardians never seemed likely for starting pitcher Alex Cobb, and now it is completely off the table. Cobb has signed a one-year deal with the Detroit Tigers, effectively ending his time with the Guardians organization.

Very few expected Cobb to return to Cleveland, even though their rotation could have used the help. It feels like with the Guardians retaining the services of Shane Bieber, they did not want to take an additional risk by keeping Cobb in Cleveland. Cobb missed a large chunk of the 2024 season after undergoing offseason hip surgery, and eventually resulted in being acquired by Cleveland during the season before throwing a pitch in the majors. Multiple other injuries, including a blister, fractured fingernail, and a back strain during the Guardians' loss to the New York Yankees in the ALCS, which ended his season. With the volume of injuries sustained last year combined with having to navigate Bieber missing the start of 2025, re-signing a 37-year-old Cobb was never going to happen.

No one can blame the Guardians for taking a chance on Cobb last season, considering the state of their rotation at the time. Cleveland was relying on a group of Tanner Bibee, Ben Lively, and not much else. It was clear that they needed help, and exploring every potential avenue to do so was absolutely necessary.

Cobb would make three regular season starts for the Guardians, compiling a 2.76 ERA and 1.041 WHIP in 16.1 innings of work, pretty solid for someone who missed the majority of the year and even had time off between his second and third starts. Unfortunately for Cobb and Cleveland, this success did not carry over into the playoffs, as his ERA and WHIP ballooned to 7.94 and 2.118, respectively, in just 5.2 innings.