ESPN’s evaluation of Tigers’ Alex Cobb signing immediately rubs salt into new wounds

The Detroit Tigers' offseason didn't exactly start off with a bang. In fact, it started out with whatever the opposite of a bang is. A whisper? A murmur? A whimper? Anyway, the point is, it wasn't good.

Coming off a 2024 season that saw a magical second-half run to the ALDS and the meteoric rise of Tarik Skubal to a unanimous American League Cy Young Award win, the Tigers' first splash on the free agent market was ... 37-year-old Alex Cobb. Talk about underwhelming.

The one-year, $15 million contract that the Tigers gave to Cobb, the injury-prone veteran who spent the 2024 season with the Cleveland Guardians already had many fans scratching their heads. The signing looked even worse once it was revealed that Cobb had been seriously contemplating retirement before the Tigers approached him with the offer.

ESPN’s evaluation of Tigers’ Alex Cobb signing immediately rubs salt into new wounds

Fans weren't the only ones ripping the Tigers for signing Cobb, either, either. In a recent ranking of the best and worst trades and free agent signings of the offseason so far, ESPN MLB insider Kiley McDaniel (subscription required) listed the Cobb signing as one of the worst in the league.

Cobb, McDaniel wrote, "just got more money this winter than many thought he was worth at this point." McDaniel elaborated on Cobb's recent injury history, which includes a hip surgery that limited him to just three starts in the 2024 regular season with Cleveland. It wasn't his first hip procedure, either; oh, and don't forget his Tommy John surgery in 2015.

Expecting Cobb to be healthy, consistent and effective enough to be a solid No. 3 or No. 4 starter for the Tigers team that is presumably looking to make a deeper playoff run in 2025 is asking an awful lot of an injury-prone 37-year-old. And yet, with a $15 million commitment for what could be his last season in the majors, that's what Detroit is asking him to do.

Unfortunately for Tigers fans, McDaniel's assessment is an accurate one. This signing isn't merely a head-scratcher; it looks straight up bad, regardless of what the Justin Verlander contract comps are.

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