Alex Cobb is focusing on winning
This time last year, right-handed pitcher Alex Cobb was still looking to latch on with a team. Granted free agency after eleven years in the Tampa Bay Rays organization, Cobb landed a four-year, $57MM deal with the Orioles. Former Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Dan Duquette said of Cobb, “As we know, [Cobb] is a really good competitor and he has an excellent track record – a proven track record – against the American League East.”
Entering the 2018 season, Cobb had a record of 21-13 in 48 starts against teams in the AL East, with a 3.08 ERA. However, after the Orioles signed him on March 21, Cobb missed out on all of Spring Training, didn’t make his first start until April 14 and was shelled against inter-division rivals. In 13 appearances (12 starts), Cobb pitched to a 2-7 record, allowing 41 earned runs in 66.2 innings, finishing the season with a 5.57 ERA.
Much like many others projected to break camp on the 25-man roster, Cobb is primed to have a bounce-back season. Hoping to carry the momentum from the second half last season, Cobb is focused on contributing to the team and winning ballgames in 2019. Speaking with the media yesterday morning in Sarasota, Cobb said, “Every time I’m out on the mound, I’m trying to win ballgames and that’s not going to change, just ’cause of what’s going on in the organization or outside circumstances.”
Of course, Cobb is referring to the rebuild that is underway within the franchise. It’s a different setting this year for Cobb, as he begins his 14th professional season. Last year, he walked into the organization with hopes to compete for a spot in the postseason. Thoughts of the evaporated rather quickly. This year, he walked into camp with a half-full Starbucks cup and a “good morning” to the security guard taking roll-call as he entered the clubhouse at Ed Smith Stadium, focusing on one game at a time.
As I’ve mentioned over the past few days, manager Brandon Hyde’s message to the team in camp is they’re going to compete on a nightly basis. “I think we’re going to harp on just competing,” Cobb said, echoing the words that Hyde is instilling. “Throughout the season, there’s going to be different scenarios that are going to come up that we’re going to work through and deal with but the overall message is learn to be yourself and compete out on the field every day.”
Getting a full Spring Training under his belt is surely enough to help him be himself and pitch as he’s capable of pitching. “It’s a sense of calming,” Cobb said of the time he’ll have this spring. “This time last year I probably hadn’t signed for another four weeks or so, so I get to take my time this year [and] ease into it the right way.” He continued, “[I] don’t have to rush and it just feels good to be settled right now and [I] can take a deep breath and just work on baseball right now and what Spring Training is meant to be.”
Spring Training is the time to come together with your teammates and work on improvements for the upcoming season. For some, it’s the time to showcase your best efforts in hopes of making the 25-man roster to begin the season. For Cobb, he’s all but pencilled in to the starting rotation this season. As Roster Resource lists, he’s projected to be the number two starter, behind Dylan Bundy and in front of Andrew Cashner, David Hess and Nate Karns, respectively.
If Alex Cobb pitches the same way this season as he did in the second half of last season – where he dropped his WHIP from 1.576 to 1.156 – he may be one of the more successful stories to come out of 2019. Likewise, he might find himself pitching for a postseason contender if the Orioles feel that trading him to net more prospects for the club’s rebuild is worth losing a top of the rotation starter.
