Alex Cobb

Alex Cobb To Undergo Season-Ending Hip Surgery

By Mark Polishuk | September 6, 2025 at 2:38pm CDT

Hip issues have kept Alex Cobb on the injured list all season, and the veteran righty officially announced the end of his lost year by telling reporters (including the Detroit Free Press’ Evan Petzold and The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen) that he’ll be undergoing resurfacing surgery on his right hip. This is the third hip-related surgery Cobb has undergone since the start of the 2019 season.

Cobb went into detail with the media about his injury-marred 2025 campaign, and all of the stops and starts faced during multiple rehab assignments. Cobb turns 38 in October, and he admitted that he was at least considering retirement in the wake of his injury woes. We should know more about Cobb’s decision in the coming weeks, as he’ll likely want to see how his body responds in the wake of the surgery, not to mention the natural discussions with his family about whether or not to step away from the sport.

If this is indeed it for Cobb, his 2025 campaign is an unfortunate coda on the end of an impressive 13-season run in the majors. His tenure with the Tigers will conclude without even a single pitch thrown, making Detroit’s $15MM free agent investment in Cobb into a total wash. There was some hope that Cobb could make it back as a relief pitcher before the season was over, but he was pulled off his rehab assignment at the end of August.

Cobb’s previous hip surgery during the 2023-24 offseason (when he was still a member of the Giants) ended up sidelining him for longer than expected, as Cobb then developed elbow soreness during his rehab process. Traded from San Francisco to Cleveland at the deadline, Cobb tossed a total of 22 innings for the Guardians, with three starts in the regular season and two more in the playoffs.

Despite the lack of workload, the Tigers felt confident enough in Cobb’s medicals and track record to give him a one-year, $15MM deal last winter. While Detroit is sailing towards the AL Central crown and hasn’t necessarily missed Cobb, it is easy with 50-50 hindsight to speculate on the many ways the Tigers could’ve otherwise used that $15MM to upgrade the roster, particularly since the club didn’t spend much in general last offseason.

Injuries have been an unwelcome subplot of Cobb’s career, with the recurring hip problems and a 2015 Tommy John surgery standing out as the major health setbacks. Though it all, Cobb has usually been an effective starter when he has been able to pitch, posting a 3.84 ERA over 1327 2/3 innings with five different big league clubs. His most effective season in terms of fWAR (3.7) came in 2022 during his age-34 season, and he received his first All-Star nod in 2023.

Tigers Pull Alex Cobb Off Rehab Assignment

By Darragh McDonald | August 27, 2025 at 12:54pm CDT

Tigers right-hander Alex Cobb will be pulled off his rehab assignment and shut down for a week. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press spoke to manager A.J. Hinch about the situation. Hinch framed this as a way to restart Cobb’s rehab window. A rehab assignment for a pitcher comes with a 30-day maximum. Cobb began his rehab assignment July 29th and was coming to the end of his 30 days. A player can finish a rehab assignment and start a new one but, per MLB rules, must be shut down for seven days in between.

In essence, this is the Tigers kicking the can down the road on Cobb again. Detroit signed him to a one-year, $15MM deal in the offseason but he has yet to throw a pitch for the big league club, mostly due to issues in his hips. He had missed a decent chunk of 2024 recovering from left hip surgery, but then his right hip was inflamed in spring training 2025. The right hip issue put him on the injured list to start the year.

Since then, he’s been battling issues in both hips and struggling to get back on the mound. He started a rehab assignment in late May but that only lasted three appearances before he was shut down again. He started a new rehab assignment about a month ago but he seemingly struggled to pitch for more than about two innings at a time. Last week, the club decided to pivot Cobb to a relief role to see if that could help him get back to the majors. The soreness in his hips has continued.

The tricky part of the calculus is that the Tigers are playing meaningful baseball. They have a huge lead in the Central division but have a tighter fight for a bye through the first round of the playoffs. Just because Cobb is a respected veteran and earning a decent salary, doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed a role as the games become more important.

“I think the goal is to have as many productive players as we can and guys that can help us win,” Hinch said this week. “If that’s the case and it lines up, then great. We want him to be good. We want him to help us win. We want him to be a part of this because we think that the stuff has been pretty good throughout the summer. He just hasn’t been able to bounce back as much. It’s not just trying to be the good guy and try to give him a platform to pitch again. That’s not been the motivation. It’s because when he has flashed that stuff over the last handful of outings, it’s been pretty good. He hasn’t always been able to retain it, or hasn’t been able to bounce back, and that’s what we’re working towards. We’re going to go day by day. This isn’t something that we’re looking at over the course of weeks. We know how much of the season is left. We know what he has to accomplish to be one of the best 13 pitches that we have — or 14 when September rosters expand. We’re just going to continue to evaluate.”

In other news from Detroit, Hinch said this week that outfielder Parker Meadows will begin a rehab assignment shortly, per Chris McCosky of The Detroit News. “He will have a schedule and we’re going to go day-to-day to see how much activity he has and how much he can handle,” Hinch said. “Which is good. We need him out there playing the field and we need him running around freely.”

Injuries have limited Meadows to just 38 games this season. A nerve issue in his right arm held him back during spring training and into the regular season. He was reinstated from the IL in early June but then a quad strain put him back on the shelf at the end of July. Those issues seemingly prevented him from getting in a groove. He hit just .200/.270/.296 in between those IL stints, a far cry from last year’s .244/.310/.433 line.

Meadows is a strong defender in the outfield, so he can be a useful player with a bit more offense than he’s shown this year. For now, the Tigers are using Riley Greene, Wenceel Pérez, Javier Báez, Jahmai Jones and Kerry Carpenter in the outfield. The return of Meadows could perhaps lead to Carpenter sticking as the designated hitter more often or more infield time for Baez.

Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images

Tigers Hoping For Alex Cobb To Return In Relief

By Anthony Franco | August 21, 2025 at 12:08am CDT

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.

AL Central Notes: Thomas, Ragans, Lynch, Cobb

By Mark Polishuk | July 6, 2025 at 8:59pm CDT

Prior to today’s game, the Guardians placed outfielder Lane Thomas on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to July 5), as Thomas is again dealing with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Infielder Will Wilson was called up from Triple-A to replace Thomas, who is headed to the IL for the third time this season. The first placement was due to a bone bruise in his right wrist, and the last two placements were prompted by Thomas’ recurring foot problems. Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt told MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins and other reporters that Thomas again started to feel discomfort in his foot during Friday’s game, so the team decided to see if the combination of an IL stint and the All-Star break can provide enough time for Thomas to finally heal up.

The injuries have contributed to a brutal .160/.246/.272 slash line over 142 plate appearances for Thomas, though he was starting to heat up a little with an .816 OPS and three homers in last 38 PA. Thomas’ struggles have been emblematic of an ugly offensive year for the Guardians as a whole, and today’s loss to the Tigers extended the Guards’ losing streak to 10 games. It increasingly seems like Cleveland will be sellers at the deadline, yet Thomas’ injuries and lack of production will probably mean the Guards won’t be able to move the impending free agent.

Tigers Place Jackson Jobe On IL With Flexor Strain

By Darragh McDonald | May 30, 2025 at 4:35pm CDT

The Tigers announced that they have placed right-hander Jackson Jobe on the 15-day injured list due to a grade 1 flexor strain in his right elbow. Righty Dylan Smith was selected to take his place on the roster, a move that was previously reported. Righty Alex Cobb was transferred to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man spot for Smith.

The news on Jobe doesn’t completely come out of nowhere. After Wednesday’s game, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press noted that Jobe’s velocity was down a bit. Jobe wasn’t in the clubhouse to talk to reporters after the game and the Tigers even closed the clubhouse while reporters were waiting to speak to him within an hour of the game ending, which Petzold noted was a violation of MLB club and media regulations. The club hasn’t provided a timeline for how much time they expect Jobe to miss, though it’s always at least somewhat concerning when a pitcher’s throwing elbow is injured.

Either way, this IL stint interrupts his first extended look in the big leagues. A former third overall pick and one of the top prospects in baseball, he hasn’t quite hit his stride in the majors yet. He made a brief debut late last year and earned a rotation job here in 2025. He has made ten starts this year with a 4.22 earned run average, 17.9% strikeout rate, 12.4% walk rate and 43.2% ground ball rate.

Those aren’t exactly dominant numbers but Jobe is still quite young. He won’t even celebrate his 23rd birthday until July. The fact that he’s in the majors at all at this age is a testament to his talent. There’s still lots of time for him to fully break out and the injury perhaps provides an explanation for why he hasn’t quite been firing on all cylinders yet.

For now, the Tigers will have to fill his rotation spot. Chris McCosky of Detroit News suggests that Sawyer Gipson-Long is a likely candidate to take over for Jobe. Gipson-Long underwent internal brace surgery in April of last year. He is now healthy enough to have made five rehab starts, getting to 5 1/3 innings in his most recent outing. Prior to going under the knife, he made four starts for the Tigers in 2023 with a 2.70 ERA. He is on the 60-day IL so the Tigers would need to open a 40-man spot if he is to be reinstated in the coming days.

As for Cobb, this move doesn’t impact his timeline. His 60-day count is retroactive to his initial placement on the 15-day IL. Since he’s already been on the shelf more than 60 days, he’s eligible to be reinstated at any time. Dan Hasty, broadcaster for the High-A West Michigan Whitecaps, relays that Cobb is expected to start a rehab assignment with that club tonight. Cobb will surely need a few weeks of ramp-up after missing so much time. He’s been out all year due to right hip inflammation.

Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images.

Alex Cobb Unlikely To Be Ready For Opening Day

By Steve Adams | February 12, 2025 at 10:17am CDT

Until the Tigers’ recent re-signing of Jack Flaherty, their one-year, $15MM deal with Alex Cobb had been their lone rotation add of the winter and was tied for their largest-scale pickup overall. The signing of Cobb came at a relative premium even though he was limited to just three regular season starts in 2024, with much of that layoff due to recovery from surgery to repair the labrum in his left hip. Now, it seems his other hip is hobbling him; the Tigers announced yesterday that Cobb received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right hip to alleviate inflammation that has “gradually” arisen during his throwing program. Per manager A.J. Hinch, Cobb will be set back by about a month and isn’t likely to be ready to slot into the Opening Day rotation (link via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com).

It’s an immediate blow to the Tigers’ staff, though Detroit is better positioned than most clubs to handle an absence (be it short- or long-term). Reigning Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal is locked into the top spot on the staff. Flaherty is back to take the No. 2 spot. Righties Reese Olson and Casey Mize give Hinch a pair of reliable arms in the third and fourth spots on the staff.

Top prospect Jackson Jobe was already going to be in the mix for a possible rotation spot this spring, and he’ll now have an even clearer path. He’ll have competition both in the form of veteran arms and fellow up-and-comers. Righty Kenta Maeda is currently slated for a swingman role, but it’s feasible that a pitcher with his track record could pitch his way back into the mix with a big spring showing. Elsewhere on the 40-man roster are righties Keider Montero, Matt Manning and Ty Madden, as well as lefty Brant Hurter. All have at least some degree of big league experience. Former big leaguer Dietrich Enns is also in camp on a minor league deal after a decent showing in the Korea Baseball Organization last year.

Cobb, 37, pitched just 16 1/3 innings during the regular season last year. He added 5 2/3 frames of postseason ball and another 23 in the minors, bringing him to a combined 45 frames on the year. Beyond the hip issue, Cobb battled shoulder fatigue and some blisters on his pitching hand.

Injuries are common for Cobb, but he’s generally been effective when healthy — especially in the latter stages of his career. Up through 2016, Cobb worked primarily off a four-seamer/curveball/changeup repertoire. Whether due to struggles in his return from 2015 Tommy John surgery or another reason, he’s revamped that arsenal over the years and also found some extra life on his pitches.

Cobb’s primary offering is now a sinker that’s averaged 94.6 mph over the past three seasons — a notable uptick from the 91 mph he averaged on his four-seamer from 2011-16. He’s gone from a straight changeup in the mid-80s to a splitter that averaged 89.6 mph in 2022-24. He’s still relying on a knuckle curve, but the pitch now sits 83-84 mph rather than 79-80 mph like it did in his early days.

While Cobb’s injury is an unwelcome development early in camp, at this point there’s no indication it’ll be a long-term issue. And, if he’s truly set back by about a month, he could still get going in mid-March, perhaps setting him up for a mid-April team debut. As such, the Tigers don’t necessarily seem like they’ll need to dip back into the free agent market for rotation arms, though further setbacks from Cobb or additional injuries on the staff could always change the outlook.

MLBTR Podcast: Winter Meetings Recap

By Darragh McDonald | December 13, 2024 at 11:57pm CDT

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams and Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

The Mets signing Juan Soto (2:35)
The Yankees to sign Max Fried (26:05)
The Red Sox acquiring Garrett Crochet from the White Sox (36:10)
The Giants signing Willy Adames (46:40)
The Athletics signing Luis Severino (51:55)
The Blue Jays acquiring Andrés Giménez from the Guardians who flip Spencer Horwitz to the Pirates for Luis Ortiz (1:01:25)
The Orioles signing Tyler O’Neill and Gary Sánchez (1:14:00)
The Tigers signing Alex Cobb (1:21:35)
The Rangers re-signing Nathan Eovaldi and acquiring Jake Burger from the Marlins (1:25:20)

Check out our past episodes!

Blake Snell, Dodger Fatigue, And The Simmering Hot Stove – listen here
Yusei Kikuchi, The Aggressive Angels, And The Brady Singer/Jonathan India Trade – listen here
The Rays’ Stadium Plans, Diamond Sports, And Some Offseason Rumors – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!

Tigers Designate Akil Baddoo For Assignment

By Nick Deeds | December 10, 2024 at 6:04pm CDT

The Tigers formally announced their previously reported signing of right-hander Alex Cobb this evening. In a corresponding move, outfielder Akil Baddoo was designated for assignment as noted by MLive’s Evan Woodbery.

Baddoo, 26, was a second-round pick by the Twins back in 2016. The outfielder’s major league career wouldn’t begin until 2021, after he was selected by the Tigers in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft. That first taste of big league action went remarkably well for the youngster, as he slashed an impressive .259/.330/.436 with a 108 wRC+ in 124 games for Detroit while splitting time between left field and center. Baddoo’s 26.5% strikeout rate was somewhat elevated, but he made up for it by walking at a healthy 9.8% clip and clubbing 13 homers, seven triples, and 20 doubles while swiping 18 bases during his rookie season.

That combination of power and speed was tantalizing enough that the Tigers stuck with Baddoo on a part-time basis despite lackluster numbers at the plate. Between the 2022 and ’23 season, he hit just .212/.302/.331 (80 wRC+) in 582 combined trips to the plate. While he went a decent 23-for-32 on the bases in those years, his power evaporated as he posted a combined isolated slugging percentage of just .119, down from the solid .177 figure of his rookie campaign. That downturn in performance in conjunction with the emergence of exciting outfield options like Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter from the Detroit farm system left Baddoo with fewer and fewer big league opportunities as his time in the organization continued.

That dwindling playing time in Detroit came to a head in 2024, as after a winter that saw the Tigers add Mark Canha to the lineup and a phenomenal Spring Training performance from Wenceel Perez, Baddoo found himself as the odd man out on Opening Day. Baddoo was optioned to the minors and ended up spending the overwhelming majority of his 2024 campaign at Triple-A. He made just 82 trips to the plate in the big leagues this past year and struggled badly in that limited time with a .137/.220/.301 slash line and a 32.9% strikeout rate. The Tigers kept him on the roster through last month’s non-tender deadline despite Baddoo being projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $1.6MM salary in his second trip through arbitration, but he’s now lost his 40-man roster spot with the club nonetheless.

Looking ahead, any club in the league will now have the opportunity to claim Baddoo off waivers if the Tigers don’t work out a trade for him within the next few days. The 26-year-old’s combination of youth and past big league success could make him an intriguing option for outfield-needy clubs, although his recent struggles and arbitration-level price tag could turn some potential suitors away.

Tigers Sign Alex Cobb

By Darragh McDonald | December 10, 2024 at 4:18pm CDT

The Tigers announced the signing of veteran right-hander Alex Cobb to a one-year, $15MM deal. He’d unlock $1MM bonuses at each of 140 and 150 innings. Detroit designated outfielder Akil Baddoo for assignment in a corresponding move. Cobb is represented by Beverly Hills Sports Council.

The move fits with the Tigers’ recent modus operandi when it comes to rotation building. Since Scott Harris was hired as president of baseball operations in September of 2022, the club has tended towards short-term deals for starting pitchers. Detroit’s first offseason under Harris resulted in one-year deals for Matthew Boyd and Michael Lorenzen. Last winter, it was a one-year deal for Jack Flaherty and a two-year pact for Kenta Maeda.

Going into 2025, it would have been fair to expect more aggression. The Tigers surged in the second half of 2024, making the playoffs or the first time in a decade. They have an exciting core of young players and almost no money on the long-term payroll. Moving to the top tiers or even just to the middle of the rotation market could have been viable, but it was reported in recent days that the Tigers preferred to stick to chasing upside on shorter pacts.

Cobb, 37, is certainly a buy-low move since he’s coming off a mostly lost season. He was with the Giants at the start of the year, recovering from offseason hip surgery. It was initially hoped that he would be recovered from that procedure fairly early in the year but he ended up battling through some shoulder discomfort. He still hadn’t made his season debut when he was traded to the Guardians ahead of the deadline.

With the Guards down the stretch, he was able to get on the mound but also dealt with some fingernail/blister issues that got in his way and sent him back to the injured list twice down the stretch. Cleveland made the postseason regardless and Cobb was activated for the American League Division Series but he was later bumped from the Championship Series roster due to an acute left low back strain.

Around all those injury setbacks, Cobb only made five starts on the year, three in the regular season and two in the playoffs. He only threw 22 innings overall between those five outings, a tiny sample that would be tough to draw meaningful conclusions from.

The Tigers are surely hoping Cobb can bounce back from that tough season, something he’s done before. He was a rotation regular for the Rays over the 2012-14 seasons but then missed all of 2015 and most of 2016 due to Tommy John surgery. He was back on the mound and made at least 28 starts in both 2017 and 2018, but then various ailments limited him to just three starts in 2019.

He wasn’t terribly effective in the shortened 2020 season but went on to have a strong three-year run after that, his most recent stretch of being both healthy and effective. From 2021 to 2023, he made 74 starts and tossed 394 1/3 innings with a 3.79 earned run average. He struck out 22.8% of batters faced in that time, limited walks to a 6.8% clip and and kept 58.1% of balls in play on the ground. Among pitchers with at least 350 innings in that stretch, only Framber Valdez and Logan Webb had better ground ball rates.

The Tigers are obviously hoping that the injuries are behind him and Cobb can get back into that 2021-23 form. There is some risk there, as Cobb is now 37 years old and can’t keep coming back from injuries forever, but he’s done it before and has a long track record. He has 233 starts under his belt overall with a 3.84 ERA.

As Detroit engineered its fairytale finish to the 2024 season, manager A.J. Hinch used the term “pitching chaos” to describe the approach. Thanks to some trades and some injuries, the Tigers were effectively down to just Tarik Skubal as the only regular starting pitcher, otherwise cobbling games together via openers, bulk guys, bullpen games and whatever Hinch could make work.

That did the trick for a while but could be difficult to maintain over an entire 162-game schedule, so bolstering the rotation was a natural target for the Tigers this winter. Skubal and Cobb should have two rotation jobs with Reese Olson in another.

Guys like Maeda, Casey Mize, Jackson Jobe and Matt Manning could be in the mix for roles as well, but there are question marks with each of those. Maeda struggled badly this year and got bumped to the bullpen, finishing the year with a 6.09 ERA. Mize and Manning are former top prospects but with middling results thus far in their careers. Jobe is one of the most exciting young pitchers in the league but only just made his major league debut late in the year and only has two Triple-A starts under his belt.

Perhaps the Tigers will make further additions to that group. Finances shouldn’t be standing in the way. Before factoring in Cobb, RosterResource projects the Tigers for a payroll of just $80MM next year. As mentioned, there’s almost nothing on the long-term books. Cot’s Baseball Contracts had Detroit at $98MM on Opening Day this past year and they’ve been far higher than that in the past.

Though if the recent past in any indication, they’ll be looking to chase upside on fairly modest deals. They’ve been connected to arms like Kyle Gibson, Walker Buehler and Andrew Heaney in recent days, with each of those guys expected to land a one- or two-year deal. For now, the Tigers have added some stability to an area of the roster that was fairly lacking in it.

Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic first reported the Tigers and Cobb had agreed to a one-year deal. Jon Heyman of the New York Post had the financials.

Guardians Notes: Fry, Free Agents, Coaching Staff

By Darragh McDonald | October 22, 2024 at 5:30pm CDT

The Guardians had a strong season in 2024 but came up just shy of the ultimate goal, falling to the Yankees in the ALCS. They now head into offseason mode with some questions to be answered. Zack Meisel of The Athletic relayed a few interesting notes on X today, arguably with the most notable detail being that David Fry is going to see Dr. Keith Meister about his injured elbow. On top of that, Meisel also says that the entire coaching staff will be back unless someone gets a promotion with another club, and that the Guards have some degree of mutual interest in reunions with free agents Shane Bieber, Alex Cobb, Matthew Boyd and Austin Hedges.

Fry had a strong season in 2024, hitting 14 home runs in just 392 plate appearances and drawing walks at a 10.7% clip. That led to a .263/.356/.448 batting line and 129 wRC+. Most of that damage came against left-handed pitching, as the righty hitter had a massive 18.2% walk rate with the platoon advantage but just 5.3% without it, while nine of his 14 long balls were against southpaws. That created lopsided platoon splits with Fry slashing .287/.430/.566 against lefties for a 179 wRC+, while those numbers were .248/.302/.374 and a 94 wRC+ against righties.

While Fry was limited by those splits this year, he was also limited in another way. He is capable of playing various spots on the diamond, with some past experience at catcher and in the four corner spots. But in late June, he was diagnosed with right elbow inflammation, as Meisel relayed on X at that time. In the latter half of the season, he mostly served as a designated hitter or pinch hitter, only rarely taking the field. He didn’t play a position other than first base after the month of July.

This left manager Stephen Vogt a little bit hamstrung down the stretch and into the postseason, as he couldn’t but Fry behind the plate. That left the Guards with a catching tandem of Bo Naylor and Hedges. Naylor had a strong year defensively but didn’t hit much. As for Hedges, he’s been on the extreme edge of that profile for a long time, having spent a decade in the big leagues as one of the worst hitters but one of the best backstops when the gear is on.

Fry’s elbow issue was manageable enough that he could hit through it, but it seems he might do a deeper dive now that the season is done. Meister is an elbow specialist who has performed dozens of Tommy John surgeries and internal brace procedures. The fact that Fry is going to see him doesn’t mean that surgery is inevitable, as it will obviously depend on the condition of his elbow, but the meeting is notable nonetheless.

If surgery is required, he’d naturally be in line for a lengthy rehab. Position players can generally return from major elbow surgeries a bit quicker than pitchers, with hitting a possibility before throwing. Bryce Harper was one extreme example, undergoing Tommy John surgery in November of 2022 and then being reinstated in May of 2023, less than six months later. Harper served as a DH for a while and then started playing some first base in July.

Of course, each case is unique and it’s not even a guarantee that going under the knife will be necessary, but that provides a rough guideline of something that could be considered. However, if such a scenario does come to pass, then it makes sense that Guardians would have some interest in bringing back Hedges.

As mentioned, Hedges is an extreme case of a glove-first backstop, which he showed again in 2024 by putting up a line of .152/.203/.220 in his 146 plate appearances. His wRC+ of 20 was the worst in the majors among guys with that many trips to the plate, except for Martín Maldonado’s 11 wRC+ in 147 plate appearances.

But Hedges has consistently been atop defensive leaderboards for catchers. He has 91 Defensive Runs Saved from 2015 to the present, easily the most in baseball with Roberto Pérez second with 75. He’s also tops in terms of Statcast Fielding Run Value for that stretch and second only to Yasmani Grandal in terms of FanGraphs’ framing metric. If Fry is set to miss some time next year, it would make sense to have Hedges come back and share the catching duties with Naylor, at least until Fry is once again an option behind the plate. Hedges signed for $4MM coming into this year and is likely in line for a pay cut, as his hitting in 2024 was below even his own low standards.

As for the other free agents, it’s understandable that Cleveland would be interested in bringing them back as they are all starting pitchers. The Guardians have long been known for their ability to grow rotation options on trees but struggled in that department in 2024. Bieber required Tommy John surgery while pitchers like Triston McKenzie, Carlos Carrasco, Logan Allen and others struggled to post decent results.

That led to the club in the unusual position of having to find midseason additions. They signed Boyd, who was recovering from Tommy John surgery, to a major league deal in June. He was still on the injured list at the trade deadline when they acquired Cobb and added him into the mix.

Both of those two and Bieber are now heading into free agency. The Cleveland rotation for 2025 projects to be fronted by Tanner Bibee with plenty of question marks after that. Ben Lively posted a 3.81 earned run average in 2024 but that was despite a low strikeout rate of 18.7%. He may have been helped by a .265 batting average on balls in play and 78.4% strand rate, which were both on the fortunate side. His 4.66 FIP and 4.58 SIERA suggest he may have difficulty repeating that ERA. Gavin Williams is a bit of the inverse, as he had a 4.86 ERA in 2024 but with a low 66.9% strand rate, leading to a 3.67 FIP and 4.19 SIERA.

Beyond those three, it gets real murky. Joey Cantillo had a 4.89 ERA in his first major league action but did so with a 9.2% walk rate around league average. Since he’s walked 13.4% of minor leagues faced since the start of 2021 and was at 15% on the farm in 2024, it might not be wise to expect him to keep up that level of control. McKenzie and Allen had ERAs above 5.00 both in the majors and minors this year.

In short, bringing in starting pitching is a logical plan for this offseason. Mutual interest between the pitchers and the club is nice but a fair price will likely be required in each case. Boyd has been injured a lot in recent years but is going into free agency on a high note. He posted a 2.72 ERA with the Guards down the stretch, along with a 27.7% strikeout rate and 7.8% walk rate, then had a 0.77 ERA in his three playoff outings. He could perhaps parlay that strong finish into a solid two-year deal in free agency and will likely be looking to maximize his guarantee after so many injury absences in his career.

Bieber and Cobb will have less momentum in terms of their earning power. As mentioned, Bieber had Tommy John surgery early in the 2024 season and will be slated to miss at least the early parts of the 2025 season. Pitchers recovering from Tommy John sometimes sign two-year deals, but those guys are usually on a path to miss most or all of the first season in those cases. Since Bieber went under the knife in April, he could perhaps play a significant role in 2025 and might try to return to the open market a year from now, either by signing a one-year deal or a two-year pact with an opt-out.

Cobb is coming off an injury-marred season that saw him throw just 22 innings between the regular season and playoffs. He came into 2024 recovering from hip surgery and eventually battled through shoulder discomfort as well as fingernail/blister issues on his pitching hand before his season was ended by a lower back strain. Now 37 years old and coming off that year, he’ll have to settle for a fairly modest deal, perhaps heavy with incentives.

RosterResource projects the Guardians for a $95MM payroll in 2025, which is less than $10MM shy of their 2024 number. That might not leave them a lot to work with this winter unless they’re planning on a notable spending increase. With the club’s broadcast deal with Diamond Sports Group now done and MLB taking over in that department, they may have less TV money coming and may not have much appetite for a big bump in the budget.

However, Josh Naylor and Lane Thomas are each slated for notable salaries in their respective final seasons of club control. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Naylor for $12MM and Thomas for $8.3MM. The Guardians often trade notable players before they reach free agency, with Francisco Lindor, Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer being some recent examples. Perhaps they would consider the same with Naylor and/or Thomas as a way of freeing up money while also perhaps bolstering the rotation that way. Any free agent pursuits might also hinge on how that market plays out for them.

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