Angels place Alex Cobb on 10-day IL with blister on finger

The Angels placed right-hander Alex Cobb on the 10-day injured list due to a blister on his right middle finger. The Halos specified that Cobb’s placement was retroactive to May 5. In other news, outfielder Scott Schebler and right-hander Ben Rowen were both outrighted to Triple-A after being designated for assignment earlier this week.

Cobb was lined up to start on Monday, but The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya tweeted that Jose Suarez was scratched from his scheduled Triple-A start Saturday night, so Suarez could be in line for a call-up to fill Cobb’s place on Monday.

It’s been a hard-luck season for Cobb, who has a 5.48 ERA through 21 1/3 innings but only a 3.24 SIERA. While Cobb has been hampered by a 9.8% walk rate, he also has a 30.4% strikeout rate that ranks in the 81st percentile of all pitchers. Cobb has a .431 BABIP and only a 60.1% strand rate, adding to his lack of good fortune.

The Angels as a whole rank last in baseball with a 66.2% strand rate and second to last (.317) in team BABIP. It probably isn’t much consolation to Anaheim fans who are frustrated with another season of subpar pitching from their club, and the Halos will take another blow if Cobb spends an extended amount of time on the IL. Blister issues can be unpredictable, although this is the first time that a blister problem has sidelined Cobb over his 10 MLB seasons.