The Tommy John troll was getting restless, and wanted some red meat from Florida. Alex Cobb, you’re up!
UPDATE: #Rays RHP Alex Cobb will undergo Tommy John surgery, which will be performed by Dr. James Andrews.
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) May 8, 2015
The 27-year old Cobb had a 2.87 ERA in 166 1/3 innings in 2014, striking out 149 and walking 47. Cobb missed a month with an oblique strain last year, and missed two months in 2013 after suffering a concussion following a line drive back to the mound that hit him in the forehead.
On the bright side for the Rays (if there *is* a bright side…), Cobb won’t earn much of a raise this winter through arbitration, and is still under team control through the end of the 2017 season as a Super Two player. Tampa Bay has also gotten solid production from their rotation this year despite Cobb not throwing an inning, as their quintet has posted a 33.40 ERA in 158 2/3 innings and 29 starts.
The only teams to pitch to a better rotation ERA are the Pirates, Mets, Cardinals (who lost Adam Wainwright to a torn Achilles at the end of April), and Reds. Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi…you’re not going to be getting any help the rest of the way, keep doing your thing.