No, the SF Giants did not make a mistake by shipping veteran pitcher at the deadline

Despite still being in the playoff mix at the time, the SF Giants shipped veteran hurler Alex Cobb at the trade deadline. Six weeks later, the Giants still do not regret making the move.

No, the SF Giants did not make a mistake by shipping veteran pitcher at the deadline

The veteran pitcher has appeared in just three games since being acquired by the Cleveland Guardians. He has performed well, posting a 2.76 ERA with 10 strikeouts against three walks in 16.1 frames this season. The Guardians did just place Cobb on the injured list on Thursday with a blister on his finger.

If he returns when eligible, the 36-year-old pitcher might be back in time to make one more start in the regular season. At the end of the day, he has looked good in a very small sample, but the Giants were clearly more than one or two players away from competing for a playoff spot. Moving or keeping Cobb does not materially change the team's record.

It bears mentioning that Cobb had a nice stint with San Francisco and there is a good chance that the club will be looking to add at least one pitcher in free agency, so a reunion might not be out of the question.

That said, shipping him off at the trade deadline was done to open a permanent rotation spot for Hayden Birdsong. The rookie pitcher dazzled in his first couple of starts with the Giants, giving the team confidence that he could finish the year in the rotation.

Birdsong has slumped since then. This is likely due to fatigue. Birdsong has thrown 109.1 innings split between three levels in 2024, up from 100.2 innings in his first full season as a pro last year. Overall, he has tallied a 5.19 ERA with 64 strikeouts against 35 walks in 52 frames with the Giants in 2024.

The strikeout total is encouraging, but his control needs to take a couple of steps forward. The Giants hope that the highs and lows of pitching against major league hitters proves to be beneficial for his development. Birdsong is in his age-22 season, so it is fair to say that he is not a polished product yet.

The Giants' strategy at the deadline was weird for a lot of reasons. Most notably, they did not pick a lane. Moving Cobb and Jorge Soler were seen as selling moves, whereas adding Mark Canha was a modest buy move. It did not make a ton of sense in terms of improving the 2024 roster.

However, the Giants hope that Birdsong's experience does help improve the roster down the road. Moving Cobb at least gave the young pitcher that experience. They certainly do not regret that move. Given where they are in the standings now, perhaps, the bigger regret was not finding a way to move Blake Snell at the deadline. Alas, that is a conversation for a different day.