Tampa Bay Rays

As if anyone needed further confirmation that no pitcher is safe from Tommy John surgery in today's MLB, another ace has bitten the dust.

This time, it's Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Alex Cobb. And while that's a shame in and of itself, what makes it an even bigger shame is that his career as an ace was just beginning to take off.

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Alex Cobb has a partially torn ligament in his right elbow and may need season-ending surgery. 

Continue for updates.

Cobb May Need Surgery

Tuesday, May 5

Yahoo! Sports passed along the details of the injury:  

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Chris Archer tossed seven shutout innings during Sunday's 5-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, setting a franchise record by going a fourth consecutive start without allowing an earned run, per ESPN Stats & Info.

The Tampa Bay Rays may not be done making changes to their roster this offseason. This time, the focus of trade discussions appears to be super-utility player Ben Zobrist.

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Rays will at least listen to potential offers for Zobrist and Yunel Escobar:

One of the best under-the-radar free agents of the offseason is officially off the market, as infielder Asdrubal Cabrera has agreed to a contract.

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the 29-year-old native of Venezuela has inked a deal with the Tampa Bay Rays:

Joel Sherman of the New York Post confirmed the deal and provided some details on the length:

After a lengthy and thorough search, the Tampa Bay Rays have chosen Kevin Cash to become the fifth manager in team history.

Roger Mooney of The Tampa Tribune made things official:

Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com initially reported the decision.

The offseason has only just begun, and already it's been a very tumultuous one for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Indeed, new president of baseball operations Matt Silverman—who took over the job in October after Andrew Friedman, his longtime predecessor, left for the Los Angeles Dodgers—has his work cut out for him.

The Tampa Bay Rays are about to embark on a new era. After Joe Maddon opted out of his contract with the organization and signed with the Chicago Cubs, the team was left with a major void at the manager position. 

Now, the Rays have announced their list of potential replacements via Twitter:

With Friday's 5-0 win over the New York Yankees, the Tampa Bay Rays became just the fourth team in major league history to reach .500 after sitting 18 games under at any point during the season, per Matt Baker of the Tampa Bay Times.

Sorry, but the David Price fantasy is over.

The man is just too expensive. Not in a contract sense, but a lump sum of $14 million this year before being eligible for arbitration one last time over the winter, per Spotrac.