Mark Gubicza opens up on Alex Cobb's departure from LA Angels

After Alex Cobb had a true bounce-back season for the LA Angels, many fans expected Cobb to be re-signed by the Halos.

Cobb dealt with injuries last year, but was very good when healthy. He recorded an 8-3 record with a 3.76 ERA and a stellar 2.92 FIP. He turned back the clock and re-established himself as a reliable starter who deserved to have his Angels career extended.

Unfortunately, the Angels dragged their feet here and let Cobb walk; going to the San Francisco Giants for a cheap two-year/$20 million deal. I wasn't thrilled about the decision, and neither was LA Angels color commentator (Bally Sports West) Mark Gubicza.

Mark Gubicza was a huge fan of Alex Cobb's performance on the LA Angels.

"I mean I’m going to miss Alex Cobb," said LA Angels color analyst Mark Gubicza. "I loved him, I loved my conversations there, I know he’s going to do well in San Francisco."

If the Angels re-signed Cobb, their rotation would be almost complete, and would look like this:

1. Shohei Ohtani

2. Noah Syndergaard

3. Alex Cobb

4. Patrick Sandoval

5. Jose Suarez

6. Michael Lorenzen

That one through five would stack up to be very solid, and would still have plenty of money to improve at that sixth spot so they can send Lorenzen to the pen (where he's much better anyway). If Cobb only cost $10 million per year, LA would have nearly $30 million to go after another starter before hitting $200 million in payroll, which is my projected limit as far as what Arte Moreno would be willing to spend.

Instead, the Halos now may need to acquire two starters in free agency and/or the trade block, and that's tougher now than it was at the start of the All-Star Game. The Reds aren't eager to trade Luis Castillo, and many of the top free agent pitching targets for the Angels are already re-signed. The Angels absolutely could have kept Cobb, and didn't get the job done when they had the chance.