The Baltimore Orioles signed veteran right hander Alex Cobb to a four year, $60 million dollar deal yesterday. It is a good move for the Orioles as they look to solidify a starting rotation that lacks depth and experience. Cobb immediately becomes Baltimore’s ace and along with Andrew Cashner, Chris Tillman and Dylan Bundy gives the Orioles a competitive but uninspiring rotation.
The Orioles have a history of signing starting pitchers late. They did the same thing four years ago when they signed Ubaldo Jimenez to a four year, $50 million dollar deal.
Cobb had Tommy John surgery in 2015 but bounced back last season and had a solid season in Tampa. Cobb went 12-10 with an era of 3.66. He pitched 180 innings and struck out 6.42 batters every nine innings. Cobb’s 29 starts last season were a career high. On paper, the Orioles signed Cobb at the right time. Couple that with Cobb having experience pitching in the A.L East and the signing makes sense.
While signing Cobb this late is a shrewd move by the Orioles, it is also a risky move. Cobb is entering his age 30 season and despite being a sinker ball pitcher, he is pitching in a hitters park in Camden Yards that becomes a launching pad in the summer months. Cobb has to keep the ball down or else he’ll get ripped. Here is how you should approach drafting or adding Cobb.
1.If you are in a ten team standard league, I would stay away from Cobb unless I need a free agent pitcher who can make a spot start at some point during the season.
2. If you are in a twelve team league, Cobb is worth drafting because you know at the very least he will get some run support and could match last season’s win total.
3. I would not pick up Cobb in daily fantasy unless it was a slow night on the schedule and you needed a starter. He just doesn’t strike enough guys out.
The moral of the story. Cobb signing with the Orioles is good for the team but bad for baseball fans because it hurts his fantasy value.
*Stats courtesy of fangraphs.