Regrading all Cleveland Guardians trade deadline moves from last year

Guardians think outside the box for pitching help
Cleveland acquires RHP Alex Cobb from San Francisco for LHP Jacob Bresnahan and INF Nate Furman (PTBNL)

The Guardians made the first addition to their pitching staff a month earlier when they signed Matthew Boyd to a one-year deal, and they added another arm in the form of Cobb, who was on the 60-day injured with the Giants at the time of the signing due to a shoulder injury. 

This trade was a bit of a flop. Cobb didn’t make his season debut until Aug. 9 and made just two starts before going on the injured list due to a fractured fingernail. 

He made one more start in the regular season before getting rocked in both of his postseason starts. 

The Guardians elected to let Cobb walk in free agency, which has looked like the right move. Cobb signed a one-year deal with the Tigers, but has yet to pitch in a game this year due to a hip injury. 

LIke the Thomas deal, this deal could age poorly due to one of the young arms they gave up. At the time of the trade, Bresnahan had a 2.54 ERA in 46 innings in the Arizona Complex League and had just earned a promotion to Single-A. He’s carried that over into his time with the Giants, as he currently has a 3.18 ERA in 65 innings with their Single-A affiliate. 

They also gave up Furman as the Player to be Named Later, and he just made Giants' organizational debut on a rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League. He made it to Double-A with Cleveland before getting traded. 

While Boyd’s success made Cobb’s struggles a little easier to swallow in the moment, this trade was a failure and only has the chance to get worse as time goes on.  

Grade: D+