Despite his offseason hip surgery, the Giants have exercised their team option on starting pitcher Alex Cobb, the team announced.
Cobb, 36, is coming off his only All-Star season of his career. He went 7-7 on the year with a 3.87 ERA, lifting up a rotation that for large swaths of the season included only him and Logan Webb as traditional starters.
Cobb’s team option is worth $10 million. The team could have bought him out for $2 million, but has decided to keep the 12-year veteran for his third season in orange and black.
The 2023 season featured several personal milestones and high-water moments for Cobb. He crossed the 1,000 strikeout threshold for his career, pitched in his first All-Star Game and came one out away from his first no-hitter. Even as he battled hip issues during the season half of the season, he continued to post, accumulating his most innings in a season since 2018.
Cobb’s hip surgery made San Francisco’s choice a bit more muddled than it would have been had he been completely healthy. Cobb underwent surgery on Oct. 31 to address his labrum and ongoing impingement issues after rehabilitation and treatment efforts didn’t clear things up.
With a roughly six-month recovery timetable, Cobb’s 2024 season will be delayed. Given that he won’t be cleared for spring training and longer, it’s possible he starts the year on the 60-day injured list.
The Giants also announced Sean Manaea is opting out of his contract, which was previously reported. The transactions leave SF with a rotation of Webb, Cobb, Ross Stripling, Anthony DeSclafani, Kyle Harrison, Keaton Winn and Tristan Beck.
Although that group is deep and has upside with the younger arms, the Giants will still likely be in the market for top-level talent to pair with Webb — who is likely to finish in the top-five of Cy Young voting. The top arms available in free agency include Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Aaron Nola, Blake Snell and Sonny Gray.
