Retirement seems inevitable for former SF Giants pitcher after latest surgery

Former SF Giants pitcher Alex Cobb has had a tough time staying healthy in his big league career. Unfortunately, the pitcher announced that he will be undergoing surgery yet again which seems all but certain to end his pro career.

Now a member of the Detroit Tigers, Cobb did not throw a single pitch for Detroit this season as he worked through a number of ailments. Ultimately, it was a hip injury that ended his season which is the same thing that ended his season when he was with the Giants back in 2023.

Former SF Giants pitcher Alex Cobb seems likely to retire after surgery

It is a tough break for Detroit as the $15 million contract they gave him on the offseason will end up being a complete waste. They knew the risk of taking a chance on a veteran pitcher with a lengthy injury history and they ended up paying the price although they are probably not too upset as the Tigers have a 8.5 game lead in the AL Central.

The decision to get surgery seems likely to be the end of Cobb’s playing career. If surgery is successful and he feels better in the offseason maybe a team would be willing to take a chance on him, but after the Tigers got burned teams will probably be much more reluctant to give him any sort of large deal for fear that he will struggle to stay on the mound.

The Giants were fairly fortunate when they had Cobb because he was quite healthy for them in both 2022 and 2023. He made 28 starts each season and pitched to a 3.73 ERA in 2022 and a 3.87 ERA in 2023 which is when he was an All-Star for San Francisco. 

He missed the first half of 2024 for the Giants before they decided to deal him to the Cleveland Guardians. There, Cobb made three regular season appearances and had a 2.76 ERA. He also pitched in the postseason last year and struggled a bit. The Giants are still reaping the rewards of that trade with Cleveland.

That may turn out to be his last action in Major League Baseball since he was not able to get on the mound at all in 2025. It is unfortunate that this will probably be the way Cobb’s career ends, but he can hang his hat on the fact that he was a really solid big league pitcher for a long time and was effective even though he had tons of injuries.

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