Alex Cobb update makes Tigers fans wonder why he signed a contract in the first place

After acquiring Chris Paddack and Charlie Morton, the Tigers now have more starters than they can fit in the rotation. Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize, and Jack Flaherty fill out the rest of the core five. Troy Melton was shifted to the bullpen, and Detroit still has depth options in the minors, namely Keider Montero. Sawyer Gipson-Long is also currently in a rehab assignment.

There's also Alex Cobb, who's been MIA all season and now only has about seven weeks to contribute at all to the team he signed a $15 million deal with. To his credit, Cobb is still working toward a comeback during the regular season and is also on a rehab assignment with Triple-A.

He's been dealing with hip issues since spring training and has started and stopped throwing progressions multiple times since. Even if he gets back by September or even a little earlier, there's no guarantee that the Tigers will use him in the postseason, so it's safe to say that the front office flushed $15 million down the drain.

According to Cobb, trying to push himself like this is already taking long-term effects on his body. Per Cody Stavenhagen of the Athletic, "he will eventually need a hip procedure to ensure he can live a normal, mobile life."

Missing Tigers starter Alex Cobb reveals he'll need further hip surgery after he retires

Of course, the Tigers front office is certainly to blame too. Reports that Cobb was heavily considering retirement before the Tigers called him up made the signing look bad before he even went onto the IL. Now, he's willingly incurring more damage to his body without any assurance that he'll even be any good when/if he gets back to the majors?

Sure, no one was expecting him to go down so quickly and stay down through this much of the season, but a guy with his track record of injury (and age) was never going to inspire much confidence from fans.

Cobb has made six starts in the minors — five in High-A West Michigan and one in Triple-A — and has a nice 2.13 ERA, but his starts have been limited to 2 1/3 innings and he hasn't seen much action in Toledo.

You sort of have to admire his dedication to getting back, but at what cost? At this point, Tigers fans wouldn't really blame him if he were to just call it a career in the midst of the season.