Tampa Bay Rays: Rotation Prognosis for 2015 and 2016

May 23, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Alex Cobb (53) looks on in the dugout with a brace on his arm as he talks with pitcher Matt Moore (55) against the Oakland Athletics at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Alex Cobb

Cobb has not thrown an inning yet in 2015 nor will he after undergoing Tommy John Surgery. It also remains to be seen exactly when he will come back in 2016. Cobb was the staff ace going into the season, but with the emergence of Chris Archer, it is possible that Cobb’s impact will be somewhat forgotten for the next two seasons, which would be a real shame. When healthy Cobb is one of the best starting pitchers in the game, but injuries have followed him throughout his major league career.

Cobb will look to start the long road back from surgery and hopefully recover in time to make an impact in the second half of 2016. How much he could help the Rays remains a mystery, but the Rays have Cobb under team control only until after the 2017 season so he is running out of time. The Rays will have to hope that Cobb can someday resume his role as the ace of the staff, but there is no guarantee of that anymore. He remains a part of the Rays’ future, but one might wonder how much longer that will be true.

Next: Drew Smyly