Alex Cobb Signing Listed as Awful Move in Free Agency for Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers have entered the offseason coming off their best season in a long time.
Now, they are trying to improve for 2025 and become true contenders.
It was an amazing 2024 campaign for the Tigers. The franchise was able to snap a lengthy playoff drought and won a playoff series against the Houston Astros.
Now, the team will be focused on trying to sustain and replicate their success from last year.
While it was an amazing run into the playoffs, by no means was Detroit perfect. The Tigers were led in the second half of the season by Tarik Skubal and a really deep bullpen.
However, there were issues in both the lineup and the starting rotation.
So far this winter, Detroit has made a couple of signings that they hope will improve the team.
Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com recently spoke about some of the moves of the offseason that were good and bad. Unfortunately for the Tigers, the signing of Alex Cobb to a one-year deal was listed as one of the worst moves of the offseason. Here’s what McDaniel had to say about the decision to sign Cobb.
“Cobb is another solid pitcher who just got more money this winter than many thought he was worth at this point. He's 37 and made just three appearances in the 2024 regular season due to hip surgery. He also has another hip procedure and a Tommy John surgery on his resume, so the injuries are beginning to become a cause for concern. His strikeout rate and velocity were still above average as recently as 2022, but now the hope is he'll have enough health and effectiveness for a No. 3 or No. 4 starter outcome coming off two seasons that suggest he might instead land in the 2024 Montas area.”
The signing of Cobb was certainly an interesting one for Detroit based on not only his contract, but his age and recent injury history.
After a few solid seasons with the San Francisco Giants, the veteran right-hander only made three starts in the regular season with the Cleveland Guardians last year.
While there isn’t much long-term risk for the Tigers in the deal, as a team that should be thinking about competing this season, they need to make sure that they have the best roster possible heading into 2025.
If Cobb can stay healthy, he has been a solid middle of the rotation pitcher. However, at 37 years old, coming off a season in which he made just two starts, there is a lot of risk that he won’t help as much as the team needs.
