Guardians’ Cobb has back strain, done for season

NEW YORK — A day after starting Game 1 of the American League Championship Series for the Cleveland Guardians, Alex Cobb‘s season is over because of an acute left low back strain, the team announced Tuesday.

The Guardians replaced the right-hander on their roster with Ben Lively, another right-handed starter, making Cobb ineligible to be on the team’s World Series roster should they advance.

Lively led the Guardians in wins during the regular season, going 13-10 with a 3.81 ERA in 29 starts.

The move required approval from Major League Baseball because only injured players are allowed to be removed from the roster.

Cobb, 37, departed Monday’s 6-2 loss to the New York Yankees after just 2 2/3 innings. Manager Stephen Vogt said Cobb’s left hip tightened up and he was dealing with back spasms.

The transaction concludes a turbulent season for Cobb, who made just five starts for Cleveland this season after being acquired from the San Francisco Giants at the trade deadline — three during the regular season and two in the playoffs.

The 2023 All-Star didn’t make his season debut until Aug. 9 after undergoing hip surgery last October. He landed on the injured list again two more times before the end of the regular season with a fractured fingernail on his right hand and a blister on his right ring finger.

Cobb went 0-2 with a 7.94 ERA in his two postseason appearances for the Guardians.

Lively, 32, didn’t make the Guardians’ ALDS roster and hasn’t pitched since the next-to-last day of the regular season on Sept. 28. He has never pitched in the postseason.