2023 SF Giants All-Star takes next step in recovery by appearing in minor league game

The SF Giants starting rotation is a bit uncertain right now, but they may be getting a big boost soon. Veteran right-handed starter Alex Cobb pitched in a minor-league outing on Saturday and may be back for the Giants well ahead of schedule.

2023 SF Giants All-Star takes next step in recovery by appearing in minor league game

Back in late October of 2023, Cobb underwent hip surgery. The estimated recovery time was six months. That meant that it seemed like the Giants would probably be without Cobb at least until early May. His recent progress suggests that Giants may be able to get him back even before that.

In the minor league outing, Cobb pitched great in two innings of work. He allowed no runs and no hits while recording five strikeouts. It was just a limited minor league outing and the competition level is not the same, but the fact that he is back on the mound is a promising sign.

The Giants are in desperate need of help with their rotation. They know that Logan Webb will be their ace, but the rest of the rotation currently projects to be Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks, Keaton Winn (injury permitting), and Mason Black.

There is a lot of promise in that group, but also a lot of inexperience.

Cobb would do a lot to solidify the rotation for the Giants. For much of last season, the Giants only had Webb and Cobb as reliable starters while the other games were handled as bullpen games or with a random assortment of long reliever/starter types.

Cobb was an NL All-Star in 2023 and recorded an ERA of 3.87 in roughly 150 innings of work. He also came incredibly close to a no-hitter late in the season.

Even though he is 36 and injuries are very much a concern for him at this stage in his career, if the Giants could get roughly 20-25 starts from him in 2024 I think they would be very happy.

Many fans would still love for the team to go out and sign Blake Snell to solidify the rotation, which they still may do, but the news about Cobb may go a long way to calming some of the nerves that Giants fans are having about the starting rotation.