Orioles Agree-to-Terms With Alex Cobb
Reports surfaced earlier in the day from the likes of Jeff Passan and Roch Kubatko that the Baltimore Orioles “were close to finalizing a deal with Alex Cobb.” Jon Heyman has now reported that The Orioles “have agreed to terms with Alex Cobb on a four year deal close to $60 million.”
cobb and orioles have agreement on terms. four years. believed to be close to 60M. @Ken_Rosenthal and @masnRoch are on top of it.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 20, 2018
The Orioles have not yet officially announced the deal as it is still pending a physical.
The Orioles have been in the conversation all off-season when it came to Cobb’s landing place. According to Roch Kubatko, “The Orioles have maintained a dialogue with Cobb’s Beverly Hills Sports Council agents throughout the off-season.”
The signing will serve as a surprise and a relief to Orioles fans because of the Orioles reluctance to sign free agent pitchers to multi-year deals.
Cobb’s signing would seemingly finalize the Oriole’s opening day rotation. The Opening day rotation would be Gausman, Bundy Cashner, Tillman, and Cobb, not necessarily in that order.
Cobb has spent his entire career in the American League East with the Tampa Bay Rays. Cobb has the best career stats out of the projected starters. He holds a career 3.50 ERA in 115 career starts.
As Roch points out in his article, Cobb has performed well in the AL East.
Much of the appeal attached to Cobb centers on his experience and comfort within the division. He’s 6-4 with a 3.43 ERA and 1.254 WHIP in 14 starts against the Red Sox, 6-4 with a 2.99 ERA and 0.996 WHIP in 14 starts against the Yankees and 3-3 with a 3.23 ERA and 1.056 WHIP in eight starts versus the Blue Jays. He’s gone 6-2 with a 2.70 ERA and 1.200 WHIP in 12 starts against the Orioles.
This move will not make the Orioles favorites to win the AL East or even make the playoffs, but as a fan it is great to see the Orioles taking steps to make the team better this year.
