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Alex Cobb Replaced By Ben Lively On Guardians’ ALCS Roster

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Major League Baseball announced that it has approved a roster change for the Guardians, with right-hander Alex Cobb replaced by fellow righty Ben Lively. MLB didn’t announce the specific nature of Cobb’s injury but the Guards announced it as an acute left low back strain. Per MLB playoff roster rules, a player removed with an injury is not eligible to return during that series nor in the subsequent series. That means that Cobb won’t be available for the World Series if Cleveland makes it, so his season is now over.

It’s an unfortunate development both for Cobb and the Guardians. The club acquired him prior to the deadline a few months ago in the hopes of bolstering their rotation, which had been slowed down both by injuries and underperformance. But Cobb had been having his own injury issues prior to the trade and struggled to stay healthy after it, which will impact his earning power as he heads into free agency this winter.

Cobb, 37, has a lengthy track record that includes a 3.84 earned run average in 233 starts dating back to his 2011 debut. He signed a two-year deal with the Giants for the 2022 and 2023 seasons and pitched rather well. He made 28 starts in each of those seasons, with his ERA coming in a bit below 4.00 in each of them. He tossed 301 innings in those two years with a 3.80 ERA, 22.1% strikeout rate, 6.3% walk rate and 59.4% ground ball rate.

He underwent hip surgery in October of 2023 with a six-month recovery estimate but the Giants still felt good enough about his prognosis to exercise a $10MM club option for the 2024 season. The news of his recovery was fairly positive throughout the winter and it seemed there was a chance that he could be pitching in the majors early in 2024, but he got transferred to the 60-day injured list in mid-April after he was slowed by shoulder inflammation. Even at that point, the Giants were hoping for a late-May return but his shoulder discomfort lingered.

He was still on the IL as the trade deadline was approaching but he was rehabbing at the time and the Guardians decided to take a shot on him, sending minor league left-hander Jacob Bresnahan and a player to be named later (later announced as minor league infielder Nate Furman) to San Francisco. The Guards had lost Shane Bieber to Tommy John surgery while hurlers like Triston McKenzie, Logan Allen and Carlos Carrasco had struggled badly. Despite the challenges in the rotation, the Cleveland bullpen was the best in baseball in 2024, helping them lead the American League Central for most of the way.

Cobb made his debut for the Guards on August 9 but only made two starts before going back on the IL, this time due to a fractured nail on his right hand. He was reinstated from the IL and made another start for Cleveland in early September but returned to the IL after that, this time due to blisters on his pitching hand.

Though he missed the final few weeks of the season, the Guards added Cobb to their roster for the ALDS against the Tigers. He started the third game of that series but was pulled after three innings, having thrown 41 pitches while allowing two earned runs. He then started the first game of the ALCS against the Yankees last night, tossing 65 pitches but without making it out of the third inning and with three earned runs on his ledger.

Now it seems this back injury will add to a very frustrating season for the veteran, as it’s evidently serious enough that they felt compelled to remove him. As mentioned, he won’t be eligible to return in the ALCS. If they make it to the World Series, he won’t be an option there either.

He’ll be heading into free agency having just turned 37 years old and without much of a platform season. Around the hip recovery, the shoulder problems, the hand issues and now this back strain, he only made the three regular season starts and two more in the postseason, logging a total of 22 innings.

For the Guardians, they will have to try to stay alive with their pitching depth thinned out even further. Without Cobb, they have Tanner Bibee, Matthew Boyd and Gavin Williams as their top three starters, with those three able to start the next three contests. By game five, scheduled for Saturday, they may have to consider a bullpen game, with guys like Joey Cantillo or Lively possibilities for bulk innings.

Lively, 32, had a solid year for the Guards in terms of surface-level results but less in terms of underlying numbers. He made 29 starts and logged 159 innings with a 3.81 ERA, but his 18.7% strikeout rate and 41.9% ground ball rate were both subpar. He did keep his walks down to a 7.8% clip and his 6.5% barrel rate was considered by Statcast to be in the 73rd percentile, but his 4.66 FIP and 4.58 SIERA suggest his ERA could be at least slightly misleading. Game two of the ALCS kicks off in the Bronx tonight at 7:38pm local time.

Orioles Sign David Banuelos To Minor League Contract

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The Orioles signed catcher David Banuelos to a new minor league contract, MASNSports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports (X link).  The deal contains an invitation to Baltimore’s big league Spring Training camp.

Banuelos had been eligible for minor league free agent but the contract ensures that he’ll remain in the Orioles organization for a second year.  After signing a minors deal with the O’s last winter, Banuelos made his Major League debut in the form of a pinch-hit appearance in Baltimore’s 11-3 win over the Twins on April 16.  That lone game marked Banuelos’ only MLB appearance of the season, and he also played in only 22 games for Triple-A Norfolk.

The lack of proper playing time was due to Banuelos’ status as a regular member of the Orioles’ taxi squad, as the O’s wanted an emergency catcher available to back up Adley Rutschman and James McCann.  With Rutschmann playing almost every day as either a catcher or DH, the Orioles wanted extra depth if an injury hit either of their two regular backstops.  This left Banuelos without much playing time since Rutschman and McCann both avoided the injured list — somewhat remarkably in McCann’s case, given how he was hit in the face with a pitch back on July 29.

Banuelos also spent part of the season in roster limbo, as the Orioles designated the catcher for assignment and outrighted him off their 40-man roster on three separate occasions.  After being outrighted the first time, Banuelos gained the right to reject any future outright assignments in favor of free agency, though Banuelos opted to remain with Baltimore after he cleared waivers the next two times.

Even with just a cup of coffee in the Show, Banuelos can now officially call himself a big leaguer after seven pro seasons.  A fifth-round pick for the Mariners in the 2017 draft, Banuelos spent just his first season in Seattle’s organization before he was dealt to the Twins, and he played in Minnesota’s farm system from 2018-23.  Banuelos has hit .216/.283/.354 over 1265 career plate appearances in the minors.

NLCS Roster Notes: Rojas, McNeil, Vesia

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The Dodgers and Mets have announced their 26-man rosters for the NLCS this afternoon. Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas was a notable omission from the L.A. roster, while Mets infielder Jeff McNeil is notably joining the club’s roster after a wrist fracture sidelined him throughout the final month of the regular season and the early part of the playoffs. Rojas was replaced on the club’s roster by outfielder Kevin Kiermaier, while right-hander Adam Ottavino was dropped from the Mets’ roster to accommodate McNeil. Left-hander Alex Vesia was also left off the Dodgers’ latest roster, with right-hander Brent Honeywell Jr. added to the roster as Vesia’s replacement. Rojas, Ottavino, and Vesia will be eligible for the club’s World Series roster because they were not removed from the roster mid-series.

Rojas departs the club’s postseason roster after suffering a partially torn adductor muscle late in the regular season. The 35-year-old veteran was able to rest up during the Wild Card Series, which the Dodgers did not participate in after capturing a bye through the first round, and participate in the NLDS against the Padres. He re-aggravated the injury while playing in the series, however, and appeared in just three of the five games while going 2-for-8 at the plate. While Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times notes that Rojas believes that he’s currently healthy enough to play, the Dodgers were evidently concerned that if Rojas aggravated the injury further he would be unavailable for the World Series in the event that the club advances. By leaving him off the NLCS roster entirely, the Dodgers hope to give Rojas the opportunity to rest up for the World Series.

With the Dodgers’ primary shortstop no longer available, Tommy Edman now figures to slide from center field to shortstop on a regular basis. That opens up center field for utility bat Enrique Hernandez, who impressed during the NLDS with a three-for-nine performance that included a home run. The strong showing added to Hernandez’s lengthy postseason resume, as he’s a career .277/.351/.548 hitter in 211 trips to the plate across 75 playoff games, 64 of which have come in a Dodgers uniform. Kevin Kiermaier and Andy Pages are both on the roster as potential backup options in center field should an injury occur, while Mookie Betts, Chris Taylor, and Hernandez himself all have experience at shortstop should a replacement for Edman be necessary at any point during the series.

While the Dodgers are losing a key member of their middle infield ahead of the series, the Mets are returning one of their own from the injured list in McNeil. The 32-year-old struggled through a second consecutive down season at the plate this year, posting just a .238/.308/.384 slash line (97 wRC+) in 128 games before going on the shelf due to a fractured wrist in early September. Five weeks after hitting the injured list, McNeil now returns to the roster to provide the Mets with a versatile lefty bat capable of slotting into second base, third base, and the outfield corners as needed. Journeyman Jose Iglesias has handled the keystone in McNeil’s absence but could take a seat on the bench for the NLCS after hitting just .207/.233/.207 in 30 trips to the plate across seven games this postseason. Rookie Luisangel Acuna is also on the postseason roster as a middle infield option but has primarily found usage as a defensive replacement to this point in the club’s playoff run.

The addition of McNeil’s lefty bat to the lineup could be particularly valuable for the Mets given the Dodgers’ loss of Vesia. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters yesterday that Vesia was unlikely to make the NLCS roster due to an intercostal injury, and that eventuality has now come to pass. While Roberts floated the possibility of right-hander Tony Gonsolin (who missed the entire 2024 regular season while rehabbing Tommy John surgery) replacing Vesia on the club’s NLCS roster, it seems that L.A. ultimately decided to turn to Honeywell rather than lean on Gonsolin to get postseason outs in his first big league appearance in over a year. The 29-year-old Honeywell has posted a solid 2.63 ERA in 37 2/3 innings of work for the Pirates and Dodgers this year despite a lackluster 4.28 FIP and figures to provide L.A. with a much-needed multi-inning option as the club weighs the possibility of multiple bullpen games during the course of the seven-game series.

10 Players Elect Free Agency

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As the offseason nears, a number of players elect minor league free agency each week. These players are separate from six-year MLB free agents, who’ll reach the open market five days after the conclusion of the World Series. Eligible minor leaguers can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season wraps up. These players were all outrighted off a team’s 40-man roster during the year and have the requisite service time and/or multiple career outrights necessary to reach free agency since they weren’t added back to teams’ rosters.

Electing free agency is the anticipated outcome for these players. There’ll surely be more to test the market in the coming weeks. We’ll offer periodic updates at MLBTR. These transactions are all reflected on the MiLB.com log.

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Ben Casparius Replaces Michael Grove On Dodgers’ NLDS Roster

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The Dodgers and Major League Baseball both announced an injury-related substitution on Los Angeles’ NLDS roster.  Right-hander Michael Grove has been removed in favor of fellow righty Ben Casparius.  No specifics were given on Grove’s injury within the press release, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including David Vassegh of 570 AM Radio) that Grove is dealing with a shoulder injury.

Grove came out of the bullpen in Sunday’s Game 2, and he allowed a Xander Bogaerts solo homer before striking out Jake Cronenworth to end the top of the eighth inning.  These were Grove’s only two batters faced, and while the inning break seemed like the reason for his removal from the game, it could be that his shoulder problem necessitated another pitching change.  With the Dodgers down 7-1 after eight innings, a healthy Grove might’ve eaten one more inning of mop-up work.

Working as a starter, reliever, and swingman since his MLB debut in 2022, Grove has a 5.48 ERA over 149 1/3 career innings in the majors, including a 5.12 ERA in 51 frames in 2024.  His secondary numbers paints a somewhat more promising picture than his ERA, though Grove has hurt his cause by being a little homer-prone.  Injuries have also been a factor, as he has missed time in each of the two seasons with lat-related issues, as well as a groin strain that sidelined him for about six weeks of the 2023 campaign.  The Dodgers have also liberally moved Grove up and down between the majors and Triple-A, so he hasn’t had a ton of time to settle into a big league role.

League rules dictate that if a team makes an injury substitution on a series roster, the injured player is also ineligible for the following series.  Grove therefore isn’t able to play in the NLCS if the Dodgers advance past the Padres, though his health is the larger concern in general, given the ominous nature of shoulder-related discomfort.  Los Angeles has already had to navigate a ton of pitching injuries throughout the season and into October, so Grove’s absence leaves the club short another arm.

It does provide quite the opportunity for Casparius, who only just made his big league debut back on August 31.  A fifth-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2021 draft, Casparius has pitched in all of three MLB games, and he has a 2.16 ERA and an impressive 32.4% strikeout rate over 8 1/3 innings.  He also has a 10.8% walk rate, which tracks with the rather so-so control Casparius exhibited over four minor league seasons.  The Dodgers aren’t likely to use Casparius in any high-leverage situations during the NLDS, and it is possible he doesn’t see any action at all in the series barring another lopsided score.

In other notable injury news for L.A., Freddie Freeman is in tonight’s starting lineup for Game 3.  Freeman’s attempts to play through a severe left ankle sprain and bone bruise seemed to take a downturn when he made an early exit from Game 2, but Roberts told reporters (including Sportnet’s Hazel Mae) that Freeman completed his pregame preparations without issue.  “It’s a go as of now….unless I hear otherwise, he’s going to be in there,” Roberts said.

Rockies Sign Bud Black To One-Year Extension

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The Rockies have agreed to a one-year contract extension with manager Bud Black, the team announced. The deal will keep Black in Colorado for the 2025 season, which will be his ninth with the club. In additional Rockies news, the team also revealed that they have parted ways with bullpen coach Reid Cornelius and assistant hitting coach P.J. Pilittere.

Black is the winningest manager in Rockies history and the only manager to lead the team to consecutive postseason appearances (2017-18). However, both of those accomplishments come with an asterisk; the Rockies are 537-657 (.450) under Black’s leadership, and they have not reached the playoffs in seven years. The team’s failures certainly cannot be attributed to Black alone, but it is still unusual to see a manager stick around so long with so little success. Only four other managers have been with their current clubs at least as long as Black has been with the Rockies, and all four of them – Kevin Cash (Rays), Dave Roberts (Dodgers), Brian Snitker (Braves), and Torey Lovullo (Diamondbacks) – have had significantly more recent success than Black.

Nonetheless, the Rockies expressed confidence in Black, with general manager Bill Schmidt stating, “We believe this team is heading in the right direction” and praising his manager’s “skills, experience, and knowledge” in a recent press release. Considering those comments, one might think the Rockies would want to give Black a longer-term deal. After all, managers on expiring contracts are typically seen as lame ducks. In Black’s case, however, this is yet another one-year deal; he also signed single-year contracts entering 2022, ’23, and ’24. Reporter Nick Groke once described the skipper as being “on a rolling year-to-year contract.” It’s possible the unique contract situation is just as much for Black’s benefit as Colorado’s, giving him the chance to walk away after every season.

The Rockies finished the 2024 season 61-101, the worst record in the National League and the second-worst record in MLB. Some promising young players took big steps forward – namely Brenton Doyle and Ezequiel Tovar – but this team is still far off from being taken seriously as a contender. After so many losing seasons in a row, plenty of fans would surely love to see a shakeup in the dugout, but practically speaking, it’s hard to imagine a new manager would make much of a difference in 2025.

Before joining the Rockies ahead of the 2017 season, Black managed the Padres from 2007-15. He went 649-713 (.477), leading the team to just a pair of winning seasons in nine years. In the second of those winning seasons (2010), he was named NL manager of the year. Prior to his managerial career, Black was the pitching coach for the Angels from 2000-06, winning a World Series with the club in 2002.

Cornelius and Pilittere both joined the Rockies coaching staff ahead of the 2022 season. Following the conclusion of his playing career in 2000, Cornelius worked as a coach in the Marlins minor league system from 2003-09. In 2010, he took over as the bullpen coach for the big league club, a role he held until 2016. After a brief stint coaching in the Braves minor league system, he returned to the Marlins organization as a minor league pitching coach in 2019 and a major league rehab pitching coach in 2021.

Pilittere played in the Yankees minor league system from 2004-11 before taking on a minor league coaching role in 2012. In 2018, he was named the assistant hitting coach for the major league club. After four seasons, the Yankees let him go at the end of the 2021 campaign, and he signed on with the Rockies shortly thereafter.

Angel Martínez Replaces Tyler Freeman On Guardians Postseason Roster

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The Guardians announced a roster move ahead of Game 2 of the ALDS this afternoon: Angel Martínez will sub in for Tyler Freeman, who has been removed from the roster after suffering a left oblique strain. According to Mandy Bell of MLB.com, Freeman hurt his oblique while playing in a simulated game. Major League Baseball has already approved the substitution.

Freeman, 25, appeared in 118 games for the Guardians this season. A converted infielder, her saw most of his playing time in center field but also took reps at second base, third base, shortstop, and DH. In addition, he was a regular pinch-hitter and pinch-runner for manager Stephen Vogt. While he wasn’t particularly productive in any aspect of the game, his speed, contact skills, and defensive versatility helped him earn playing time throughout the year. However, he did not appear in Game 1 of the ALDS, and he is now ineligible to return until the World Series, should Cleveland advance that far.

Martínez, 22, made his big league debut in June but struggled to stick on the Guardians’ roster. However, he hit well in 55 games at Triple-A this year, producing an .812 OPS and 111 wRC+. Indeed, he was so red-hot at Triple-A to start September (182 wRC+ in 10 games) that he bumped Freeman off the active roster. Unfortunately for Martínez, he just could not find the same success against MLB pitching, going 9-for-41 (.220) with a .517 OPS and a 51 wRC+ over 12 games after his latest promotion. That likely explains why the Guardians went back to Freeman in favor of Martínez on the ALDS roster in the first place. With Freeman on the shelf, Cleveland will turn back to Martínez to fill the role of the athletic backup outfielder/pinch-runner/utility man off the bench.

Tucker Davidson Elects Free Agency

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The Orioles announced this morning that left-hander Tucker Davidson, whom they designated for assignment on the final day of the regular season, elected free agency rather than accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk.

A former top prospect with the Braves, Davidson bounced to the Angels and Royals before landing with the O’s for the 2024 season. He posted 4 2/3 scoreless frames in the majors this year, albeit with two walks against just one strikeout. The bulk of his season was spent in Norfolk, where he logged 115 2/3 innings with a 3.89 ERA, 20.7% strikeout rate, a 9.1% walk rate and a 45.7% ground-ball rate.

The 28-year-old Davidson split his time in Norfolk between the rotation and the bullpen, faring far better in the former. While his numbers as a starter were passable — 4.48 ERA, 18.5% strikeout rate, 9.1% walk rate — he was much more successful coming out of the ’pen. In 44 relief innings, he notched a 2.45 ERA, 23% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate. As a starter, opponents batted .266/.336/.431 against Davidson this season. They flailed away at a .195/.263/.335 pace when he was pitching in relief.

Davidson will turn 29 in March. To this point in his big league career, he’s posted a 5.76 ERA in 129 2/3 innings. Certainly, that’s not an exciting profile, but there’s reason for cautious optimism moving forward. His work in relief this year was strong, and the brief MLB look he had with the Orioles featured a vary different pitch mix than he’s had in seasons past. Davidson has traditionally focused on a four-seam/slider combination, mixing in an occasional curveball as a change of pace. The Orioles had him scale back the usage of both his four-seamer and slider while adding a sinker and splitter that he used about 12% of the time each.

In all likelihood, Davidson will still be looking for a minor league deal this winter, but a former top prospect on the right side of 30 with solid Triple-A numbers and a tweaked pitch mix creates more intrigue than many other minor league free agents. He’ll be an option for clubs seeking rotation and bullpen depth alike.

Guardians Activate Alex Cobb For ALDS Roster

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The Guardians released their 26-man roster for the AL Division Series this morning, and veteran right-hander Alex Cobb was included after being activated from the 15-day injured list.  Cobb has pitched in just one MLB game since August 14 due to a pair of IL stints — first due to a fractured fingernail, and now this latest stint due to blisters on his right hand.

It has been an injury-plagued season overall for Cobb, as he has only three total starts and he didn’t make his season debut until August 9.  Cobb had hip surgery last October, and his recovery from that surgery was delayed by both some shoulder soreness and then some earlier blister issues.  As it turned out, Cobb’s final year with the Giants didn’t even involve one last trip to the mound in a San Francisco uniform, as the Giants dealt the veteran starter to the Guardians at the trade deadline.

Cleveland felt confident enough in Cobb’s status to swing the trade despite his lack of action during the season, and his subsequent pair of trips to the IL haven’t exactly calmed any doubts about his health.  However, the Guards were able to win the AL Central even with Cobb providing limited help, and for what it’s worth, he did pitch well (2.76 ERA in 16 1/3 innings) over his three starts with his new club.

An impactful October performance would certainly help Cobb make a true mark on his new team, though it remains to be seen exactly how the Guardians might deploy Cobb in the ALDS.  Tanner Bibee is the scheduled starter for Game 1 and Matthew Boyd is the likeliest candidate to start Game 2, though the Guards could go in many directions given the uncertain nature of their rotation.  Considering how Cobb is just returning from the IL, his innings could be limited if he does get a start, or Cleveland might even use him as a bulk pitcher (behind an opener) or perhaps in a piggyback capacity.  The Guardians are hoping to get as much as they can out of their starters and then rely on their elite bullpen.

Here is Cleveland’s full 26-man roster for its ALDS matchup against the Tigers.  Cobb, Bibee, Gavin Williams, Emmanuel Clase, Hunter Gaddis, Cade Smith, Eli Morgan, and Andrew Walters are the right-handed pitchers, and Boyd, Tim Herrin, Joey Cantillo, and Erik Sabrowski are the four southpaws on the roster.  The list of position players consists of catchers Bo Naylor and Austin Hedges, utilityman David Fry, infielders Jose Ramirez, Josh Naylor, Andres Gimenez, Brayan Rocchio, Daniel Schneemann, and Kyle Manzardo, and outfielders Steven Kwan, Lane Thomas, Jhonkensy Noel, Will Brennan, and Tyler Freeman.

Nine Players Elect Free Agency

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As the offseason nears, a number of players elect minor league free agency each week. These players are separate from six-year MLB free agents, who’ll reach the open market five days after the conclusion of the World Series. Eligible minor leaguers can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season wraps up. These players were all outrighted off a team’s 40-man roster during the year and have the requisite service time and/or multiple career outrights necessary to reach free agency since they weren’t added back to teams’ rosters.

Electing free agency is the anticipated outcome for these players. There’ll surely be more to test the market in the coming weeks. We’ll offer periodic updates at MLBTR. These transactions are all reflected on the MiLB.com log.

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