Guardians, Giants, complete trade that sent Alex Cobb to Cleveland

It took a little bit of time, but the Cleveland Guardians and San Francisco Giants have completed the trade for Alex Cobb. Cleveland received Cobb in exchange for pitcher Jacob Bresnahan and a player to be named later. Well, that player has now been named. San Francisco will also receiver Nate Furman, an infielder who has made appearances for both Lake County and Akron this season.

Furman has mostly played second base during his time in the Guardians organization, with the occasional appearance at third and one at shortstop. With Andres Gimenez currently occupying that position in the majors and 2024 first-overall pick Travis Bazzana in the mix, Furman was someone who was clearly expendable in Cleveland's eyes. Between Gimenez and Bazzana covering the middle infield, Jose Ramirez at third, and the plethora of other options capable of filling part-time roles in the major leagues, the path to playing time for Furman was blocked in Cleveland but may have a better opportunity to reach the majors in San Francisco.

For Cleveland, the deal to acquire Cobb has not quite worked out as of yet, but it is due to no fault of their own. Cobb landed on the injured list after his second start with a fractured fingernail. This injury to Cobb put even more pressure on Cleveland's depleted starting rotation. The acquisition of Cobb was meant as a way to stabilize and bolster their starting rotation but now has them back in the same situation they were before the deal was made. This is just another case of the Guardians' attempts to fix their rotation not working out, at least for now. Hopefully, Cobb is able to return and make some sort of contribution in the stretch run because the Guardians really need all hands on deck when it comes to their starting staff.