CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Guardians starter Alex Cobb is still “progressing” with a right-hand blister according to manager Stephen Vogt.
Cobb landed on the 15-day injured list on September 12th with the injury. Vogt has referenced in the past how Cobb is a pitcher who often gets blisters.
This is the third hand-related injury that has impacted Cobb since he was acquired at the trade deadline. He had to make a rehab start before joining the major league club with a blister, spent time on the IL with a fractured nail on his right hand, and is now recovering a blister on the same hand.
“[He’s] doing well,” Vogt said. “Threw a bullpen yesterday went really well, so he’s progressing. See how he goes today and what the next steps will be for him to build back up.”
Cobb could add some depth to Cleveland’s rotation heading into the postseason. In three starts this season with the Guardians, he owns a 2-1 record with a 2.76 ERA.
Stayin’ sharp – The first starter to do a simulated game to prepare for the playoffs was Matthew Boyd on Friday.
“He looked good,” Vogt said. “His stuff looked good. Created a good atmosphere for him and he looked sharp, so yeah, it was a good day.”
Plans for the regular season changed after Cleveland secured a top-two seed in the American League on Tuesday. Both Matthew Boyd and Tanner Bibee won’t pitch again until the postseason.
Boyd was signed by the Guardians on June 29th while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. It took the southpaw 45 days from when he was signed to make his Cleveland debut.
“We want to make sure that he stays sharp for the postseason,” Vogt said. “There are a lot of factors that go into it. Number one is health. He’s checked every box he needed to in the regular season. We want to be mindful of him coming off injury and not push him too hard, and he was able to get really good work in today.”
The 10-year MLB veteran has looked good for the Guardians through eight starts this season. He owns a 2.72 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 39.2 innings pitched.
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Tanner Bibee is scheduled to throw a sim game early next week. Bibee finished the regular season with a 12-8 record with a 3.47 ERA in 31 starts.
See ya next weekend? – The Guardians welcome the Astros into town for the final three games of the regular season. The series features the current second and third seeds in the American League.
If nothing changes in the standings, Cleveland will host the winner of the Wild Card series between the third and sixth-seed teams in the American League. That series will include the AL West Champions, the Houston Astros.
“It’s hard because one, you don’t know who you’re gonna play next weekend,” Vogt said. “We’re fortunate to have the five days to prepare. There’s a little bit of strategy that goes into it, but really at the end of the day we want to win all these games.”
The Guardians enter the series opener on a four-game home winning streak. They’ll look to improve their AL-best 50-28 record at Progressive Field this season.