Baltimore Orioles: Close The Book On Alex Cobb For 2019

The season is over for Baltimore Orioles RHP Alex Cobb. The team believes he will be ready for the start of the 2020 season.

You had to assume this news was coming. On Tuesday afternoon, the Baltimore Orioles announced that starting pitcher Alex Cobb will be shut down for the remainder of the 2019 season.

General manager Mike Elias broke the news to reporters ahead of tonight’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Cobb was supposed to be the Opening Day starter for the Baltimore Orioles, but three different trips to the Injured List prevented him from making his Opening Day start against the New York Yankees, and pretty much every other scheduled start afterward.

In his three starts this year, Cobb went 0-2 with a 10.95 ERA. He surrendered 15 earned runs in 12 innings, striking out eight and walking two. Fitting in with the rest of the pitching staff, he gave up nine home runs during his brief tenure.

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Cobb will have surgery to repair a hip impingement and clean up some knee issues, as discussed by The Athletic’s Dan Connolly.  While Elias believes Cobb will be ready for spring training next year, most fans have learned to live without the high-priced free agent. Injuries limited the 31-year-old to 152 innings last season, where Cobb finished 5-15 with a 4.90 ERA.

Cobb still has two years remaining on his contract. The righty was signed to a four-year/$57 million deal prior to last season. Hopefully, he can return and make an impact in 2020. While the signing brings back haunting memories of the Ubaldo Jimenez signing, we’d like to hope Cobb can eventually make a positive impact on this franchise.

Over the second half of 2018, Cobb made 10 starts, posting a 2.56 ERA and 1.16 WHIP across 59.2 innings for the Orioles. It was a dramatic increase from his 6.41 ERA and  1.58 WHIP he posted during the first half of the 2018 season, leading many (myself included) to believe 2019 would be a solid season for the veteran.

The Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays begin a three-game set tonight at Camden Yards. Follow @BirdsWatcherFS on Twitter for in-game updates and O’s talk!