The Tigers plan to use Alex Cobb in a multi-inning relief role if he’s able to make it back from the injured list, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (link via Chris McCosky of The Detroit News). Cobb signed a one-year deal to work as a starter but has missed the entire season due to left hip issues.
“We shrunk down the expectations internally on how long he can go in a game,” Hinch told McCosky and others. “We’re trying to see how the two- and three-inning stints go and how he bounces back from that.”
It has long since passed the point for the Tigers to get the return they expected on a $15MM free agent investment. At this point, they’d welcome any contributions from the 37-year-old. Cobb has been on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Toledo for the past week. He has worked between two and three innings in each of his first two appearances. He’s expected to make his next appearance this weekend.
Rehab assignments for pitchers can last up to 30 days. Using Cobb in a relief role could get him back before the end of that window. Speculatively speaking, the Tigers could view September 1 as a target for his reinstatement. That’s when active rosters expand from 26 to 28 and teams are permitted to carry a 14th pitcher.
That’d at least give Cobb a few weeks to audition for a spot on the playoff roster. Detroit’s bullpen remains arguably its biggest weakness. They’ve gotten excellent work out of deadline pickup Kyle Finnegan, while righty Will Vest has been very good all season. Tyler Holton is established as their best option from the left side.
The middle relief group remains very much in flux. Cobb and deadline acquisition Paul Sewald could each return late in the regular season. One of Jack Flaherty or Chris Paddack could move to the bullpen once the postseason begins and teams shrink their rotations in short series. The club also hasn’t closed the door on Reese Olson pitching in October, but that’s a long shot after he sustained a significant shoulder strain at the end of July.
Cobb missed almost all of last season because of issues in his right hip. He began the year with the Giants and was on the injured list through the trade deadline. The Guardians acquired him while he was rehabbing. He made three regular season starts and pitched twice in the postseason with Cleveland. A lower back injury knocked him out of the playoffs during the AL Championship Series.
JF is going to get bumped? He’d certainly get the ball before Paddack. Skubal and Mize are the only really locks. I could see Morton getting the ball in a game 3 too. I think the better question is him or JF as the 3rd starter