Detroit Tigers Signing Alex Cobb Listed as Massive Overpay This Offseason
It has been a fairly quiet offseason for the Detroit Tigers, who appeared like a team who would make some noise this winter.
Coming off an incredible 2024 campaign, the Tigers are looking to build off snapping their lengthy playoff drought. The second half of the season was quite the run by Detroit, but if they are going to sustain success, moving forward, they will need to make some upgrades.
With a couple of needs in the lineup and the starting rotation, it has been a bit surprising to see the Tigers being so quiet of late.
One of the biggest moves so far this offseason for the Tigers was the signing of veteran starter Alex Cobb to a one-year, $15 million deal.
Recently, Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report spoke about some of the worst contracts so far this offseason. He listed the Tigers signing Cobb to a $15 million deal, and highlighted a lot of concerns.
“Alex Cobb made three regular-season starts this past year for the Cleveland Guardians after missing the bulk of the campaign on the injured list for the Giants as he recovered from both left hip surgery and inflammation in his right shoulder. Evidently, the Tigers loved what they saw in Cobb's short stint with the division-rival Guardians, even though manager Stephen Vogt allowed him to go just 5.2 innings total across his two postseason appearances. Cobb was an All-Star as recently as 2023, as he posted a 3.87 ERA in 28 starts for the Giants. But he's 37 years old, and has a pretty lengthy injury history. It feels like there's a chance this ends up being a sunk cost because Cobb just isn't able to stay on the mound.”
After an All-Star season in 2023 with the San Francisco Giants, the right-hander came over to the Cleveland Guardians. However, due to injuries, he barely pitched in 2024, making just three starts during the regular season.
There isn’t much to go off of from his performance in 2024 with the sample size being so small, but the Tigers clearly saw something since they offered him such a lucrative one-year deal.
While starting pitching was certainly a need, it’s going to be hard to rely on Cobb to be what they are looking for in the rotation. The veteran right-hander has only been over 150 innings pitched twice since 2018, as it’s hard to imagine that he will reach that mark at 37 years old.
Even though he fills a need in the rtaiton, giving $15 million to a pitcher that missed nearly the entire season and is closing in on 40 years old doesn’t seem wise.
