FanSided

Guardians being cautious with Alex Cobb, will not start as expected

By James Mastrucci |
Pittsburgh Pirates v Cleveland Guardians
Pittsburgh Pirates v Cleveland Guardians / Nick Cammett/GettyImages

Originally slated to start in Los Angeles against the Dodgers, the Cleveland Guardians have decided to bump Alex Cobb from this start while having Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee move up in the rotation. The reason? A blister developed on his middle finger, which popped up during his previous start.

The Guardians are taking just a little extra precaution when it comes to Cobb here due to the heat and humidity during Cleveland's series in Los Angeles. There is no reason to put Cobb in a situation where this could develop into a much larger issue. Taking him out of consideration to start on Sunday and allowing his blister to heal properly rather than pushing it for no reason is clearly the best path forward for the starting rotation and the organization.

Hopes were somewhat high for Cobb in what was supposed to be a matchup against a star-studded Dodgers team. Cobb is coming off a start that saw him pitch 6 innings of perfect baseball before giving up an awkward infield single in the 7th to end his Perfect Game big. Seeing Cobb pitch at a masterful level against Pittsburgh last Sunday was very encouraging for what he might have done against the Dodgers. Granted, the Dodgers are clearly a better team than the Pirates, but this is more about Cobb being locked in and controlling the game on the mound rather than pitching and getting lucky.

Taking this course of action was a no-brainer for the Guardians. Cleveland has seen plenty of arms take the mound this season in a starting capacity this year, as it has been a revolving cast of characters in their rotation. Holding Cobb out was really the only thing they could have done here, and they should be applauded for doing so. Given the current state of their starting pitching group, the Guardians cannot afford to see even more change and/or lose someone for an extended period of time. Give him an extra day or two and allow him to be fully ready to go for his next outing, which should hopefully take place sometime early next week.