Tigers spent an egregious amount on Alex Cobb after contract details revealed

When the Tigers had signed Alex Cobb to a one-year deal in their first free agent signing of the offseason, it was underwhelming, to put it mildly. It fell in line with Detroit's apparent M.O. for the offseason — starting pitcher, commitment deal — and, just like with Kenta Maeda last season, it came with a lot of risk.

Cobb pitched just over 16 innings last season for the Guardians and only threw 158 from 2019 through 2021 as he was frequently saddled with myriad injuries. This year, he didn't pitch until August as he was recovering from a hip surgery, and then he hit the 15-day IL twice with a fractured nail and then a finger blister.

The details of Cobb's deal didn't come out with the news of his signing, as it was contingent on a physical, which he passed on Tuesday. Jon Heyman had the full details, as Cobb will get $15 million for his one year in Detroit, with a $1 million incentive for 140 innings pitched, and another $1 million for 150 innings pitched.

When fans were begging the Tigers to spend money, this isn't what we meant.

Full details of Alex Cobb's one-year deal with Tigers reveal massive overpay

Cobb's $15 million makes him the highest-earning Tigers starter in a single season since Jordan Zimmerman made $25 million in 2019. Eduardo Rodriguez, Maeda, and Jack Flaherty were all paid no more than $14 million.

Luis Severino's deal with the Athletics skewed the market for mid-tier starting pitchers, but it's still wildly ridiculous that Cobb got away with that much money when he has such an extensive history of injury. The Tigers are definitely banking on him returning to his 2022-2023 form, when he pitched around 150 innings per season and for a 3.70-3.80 ERA, but that's a lot of money to gamble on a guy who just cannot seem to stay healthy.

It's hard for fans to be optimistic about a signing like this when Maeda is already being overpaid and the Tigers seemingly refuse to dump him, despite the fact that he very well may end up being a $10 million reliever throughout the 2024 season. This is a baffling move for the penny-pinching Detroit Tigers, and it doesn't exactly instill hope in fans that the front office knows exactly how they should be using their slightly expanded budget this offseason.