The Cleveland Guardians needed to add some starting pitching ahead of the trade deadline.
Their offense is above average, they have an excellent rookie manager, and they boast the best bullpen in baseball and it’s not particularly close.
All they needed was one or two proven, quality arms to strengthen their case as World Series contenders.
The market, however, was unforgiving.
There were precious few sellers and too many buyers.
It was a true sellers’ market and they took advantage of that.
In addition to that, the real difference-makers such as Garrett Crochet and Tarik Skubal weren’t moved.
The Guardians love what they have built with their farm, so they only sacrificed a single prospect (and not a top one) to get Alex Cobb from the San Francisco Giants as far as pitching is concerned.
While it might not seem like much given that he is 36 and coming off hip surgery and a shoulder injury, executives loved the gamble.
“Multiple execs think the Guardians had the deal of the day at the deadline, great analysis in this @jaysonst recap,” 92.3’s Anthony Lima tweeted, with an extract of the article.
Multiple execs think the Guardians had the deal of the day at the deadline, great analysis in this @jaysonst recap https://t.co/7ubd4XNwQo pic.twitter.com/BwpIJbukXs
— Anthony Lima (@SportsBoyTony) August 1, 2024
Stark says that two different executives said the Cobb trade was their favorite deadline deal.
The Guardians didn’t sacrifice much (left-hander Jacob Bresnahan and a player to be named later) and brought in a good chance to have some rotation stability.
The Guards scouted Cobb’s rehab outings and believe he could be ready to rejoin the rotation at some point this month.
The righty has a career 3.85 ERA and posted a 3.87 mark last year in 151.1 innings.
If he is healthy, and he is very close to that status, he could be a great backend option.
Will it be enough for the Guardians?
NEXT: Guardians No. 1 Draft Pick Shows Off His Power With Grand Slam In High-A
