Rotation in good hands despite Cobb's 'baby setback'

This story was excerpted from Maria Guardado’s Giants Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SAN FRANCISCO -- As he progressed through his rehab from offseason hip surgery at breakneck speed, Alex Cobb decided to make a fun bet with Logan Webb. If Cobb managed to beat the odds and return for the start of the regular season, the 36-year-old veteran would supplant Webb as the Giants’ Opening Day starter.

“I tried,” Cobb said on Friday. “I came up short. That’s all right. Next year.”

Cobb gave Webb a run for his money, but his timetable was pushed back a bit after he was shut down with a mild flexor strain in his right elbow. Cobb is taking anti-inflammatories and isn’t expected to resume throwing until next week, which will likely prevent him from rejoining the Giants’ rotation until May.

Despite the “baby setback,” Cobb believes he should be able to ramp up quickly once the inflammation in his elbow subsides. His surgically repaired left hip feels good, and he was on track to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento or Single-A San Jose before he began to feel some discomfort in his elbow. Cobb said he planned to meet with team orthopedist Dr. Ken Akizuki on Friday to map out the next steps of his throwing progression.

While he’s eager to come back, Cobb knows it doesn’t make sense to push his body this early in the year, especially now that the Giants are planning to welcome reigning National League Cy Young winner Blake Snell to their rotation on Monday.

Rookie right-hander Keaton Winn, who will round out the starting staff while Cobb is out, also impressed in his season debut against the Dodgers, giving up three runs over five innings while striking out six.

“There’s no reason to rush,” Cobb said. “It doesn’t benefit anybody if you come back and you’re hurt. But watching the team from afar through the TV, it’s just a fun team. I know we didn’t do what we wanted in L.A., but it was just good baseball. It was fun baseball to watch. We came up short. But what a lineup the Dodgers have. I thought the guys battled really well.

“Keaton’s stuff looked fantastic. He’s throwing his slider more. The split in and out of the zone, 98 [mph] top of the zone. You feel like you’re in good hands. You feel like the team is in good hands with the guys we have right now.”

Snell received one of the loudest ovations during pregame introductions for the Giants’ home opener on Friday, and Cobb said he’s confident his former Rays teammate will continue to win over fans once he finally gets the chance to take the mound for San Francisco.

“Really just electric stuff,” Cobb said. “I feel like probably most of our fans have gotten a little bit of a taste. He’s pitched against us quite a bit. Best pitcher in baseball last year. You can expect that type of quality. Just a good person, too. I think he’s going to be very personable, very easy to like as a player. Fun to watch. It’s exciting to be his teammate again.”