Tampa Bay Rays: Cobb’s rehab shut down

Mechanical and fatigue issues shut down Cobb’s rehab assignment, return to the Tampa Bay Rays pushed back. Still no indication of a setback.

The news for the Tampa Bay Rays and Alex Cobb wasn’t exactly what everyone wanted to hear, but as they say it’s better to be safe than sorry.

On Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Rays decided to shut down Cobb from his rehab assignment due to continuing fatigue and mechanical issues as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery.

The main reason for stopping Cobb’s rehab assignment is that a player (pitcher) on a rehab assignment has a 30-day window. After the 30-days the player must then be activated (can be optioned to the minors) or returned to the disabled list.

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Essentially in Cobb’s case, it could give him a seven-day, two week break before returning to his rehab assignment and starting regimen.

“We want to make sure he gets his full rehab and can work through the process at his pace,” Cash said. “And given that he has had a little bit of fatigue in the arm overall, it seemed like the right time to do it.”

Cobb has made just two rehab starts, the first on July 6 when he pitched only two-thirds of any inning in which he threw just 21 pitches. His second start came on July 11 and was removed from the game because of fatigue issues.

He was scheduled to make another rehab start on July 16 but instead threw a bullpen session at Tropicana Field  to work on his mechanics with Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey and under the watchful eye of manager Kevin Cash (since the Tampa Bay Rays were in town).

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It was after this session that the Tampa Bay Rays would go over Cobb’s workout and his overall situation, but the final determination would come on Tuesday that they would stop Cobb’s rehab.

“I feel very close to being back to normal. Each inning I’ve been able to throw in the rehab starts, they’ve been very informative for me getting back my mechanics. Each time I take away a lot. It’s just a lot going on in those environments for me to work on what I need to work on,” said Cobb.

Meanwhile, Cobb will be at Tropicana Field where he will continue to work on his mechanical issues outside of game situations until the team feels he can begin his rehab assignment.

It is possible that the Tampa Bay Rays will hold off on the start of another rehab assignment (there is no time table to start another) until they are very confident that his fatigue and arm issues are under control.

While this all sounds good, it however still raises questions concerning his struggles – both from a mechanical and fatigue issue and possibly even from Cobb’s mental perspective.

Nonetheless, there has been no official word from Cobb, Cash or the Tampa Bay Rays that Cobb has suffered a setback.

The only information given is that the team wants to give him more time to work on his mechanics outside of a game atmosphere.

Next: Alex Cobb's rehab cut short due to fatigue

With a new 30-day window, Cobb’s return to the majors is somewhat up in the air, though he could still return sometime in August – and that’s barring any additional setbacks.