The Guardians remove Alex Cobb from the ALCS roster and add Ben Lively

NEW YORK – One day after the start of Game 1 of the American League Championship Series for the Cleveland Guardians, Alex Cobb's season has ended due to an acute left lower back strain, the team announced Tuesday.

The Guardians replaced the right-handed hitter on their roster with Ben Lively, another right-handed hitter in the starting lineup, making Cobb ineligible for inclusion on the team's World Series roster should they advance.

Lively led the Guardians in wins during the regular season, going 13-10 with a 3.81 ERA in 29 starts.

The move required approval from Major League Baseball, as only injured players can be removed from the roster.

The 37-year-old Cobb exited Monday's 6-2 loss to the New York Yankees after just 2⅔ innings. Manager Stephen Vogt said Cobb's left hip was tight and he was dealing with back spasms.

“An injury like that would be a full IL stay,” Vogt said before Game 2. “And with the timing of the year, the chances of him pitching again were very, very, very slim.”

Lively left-hander Gavin Williams is a candidate to start Game 3 on Thursday in Cleveland.

“We don’t know what we’re going to have,” Vogt said. “Alex wanted to start Game 5. Now we have to find out today that we still have six games left.”

The transaction ends a tumultuous season for Cobb, who made just five starts for Cleveland this season after being acquired from the San Francisco Giants at the trade deadline – three during the regular season and two in the playoffs.

The 2023 All-Star didn't make his season debut until August 9 after undergoing hip surgery last October. With a broken fingernail on his right hand and a blister on his right middle finger, he landed on the injured list two more times before the end of the regular season.

Cobb went 0-2 with a 7.94 ERA in his two postseason appearances for the Guardians.

The 32-year-old Lively was not on the Guardians' ALDS roster and has not pitched since the second-to-last day of the regular season on Sept. 28. He has never made a pitch in the postseason.

“I'm just sticking with the same training program as when I started: practice day, heavy bullpen day in between and just trying to stay fit,” Lively said.

Lively faced the Yankees once, on May 19 of last year for Cincinnati, when he allowed Aaron Judge's home run in the first inning and granted a walk to Judge in the sixth inning, following Anthony Rizzo's home run off reliever Ian Gibaut, making it 6-6. 2-Success achieved New York wins.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.