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Detroit Tigers sign right-hander Alex Cobb to 1-year contract
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- Detroit Tigers sign right-hander Alex Cobb to 1-year contract
DALLAS — The Detroit Tigers have added a starting pitcher.
The Tigers have signed right-hander Alex Cobb , an All-Star in 2023, to a one-year contract in MLB free agency, according to a source with knowledge of the agreement.
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The two sides agreed Monday, the first day of MLB's Winter Meetings , but the deal is pending a physical exam. The source was granted anonymity because the agreement is not yet official.
Cobb, 37, posted a 2.76 ERA with three walks and 10 strikeouts across 16⅓ innings in three starts for the Cleveland Guardians in the 2024 season. He missed most of the season because of left hip surgery and a right shoulder injury.
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Cleveland Guardians pitcher Alex Cobb throws against Detroit Tigers during the first inning at Game 3 of ALDS at Comerica Park in Detroit on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024.
There's a previous relationship that links the Tigers and Cobb, connected by president of baseball operations Scott Harris . Back in 2021, the San Francisco Giants signed Cobb in free agency . At the time, Harris was the general manager of the Giants.
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The Tigers hired Harris in September 2022 .
Cobb — a back-of-the-rotation starter who generates ground balls and commands his pitches — hasn't pitched a full season since 2023 with the Giants, when he registered a 3.87 ERA with 37 walks and 131 strikeouts across 151⅓ innings in 28 starts.
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That year, Cobb ranked in the 87th percentile with a 5.7% walk rate and the 95th percentile with a 57.8% ground-ball rate, but he ranked in the 29th percentile with a 20.3% strikeout rate and the 16th percentile with a 21.7% whiff rate.
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Cobb underwent left hip surgery after the 2023 season to repair a torn labrum. He was supposed to return in May 2024, but the timeline was pushed back due to right shoulder soreness.
In late July 2024, the Giants traded an injured Cobb to the Guardians for left-hander Jacob Bresnahan and infielder Nate Furman .
By early August, Cobb made his season debut for the Guardians. He made three starts in the regular season and two starts in the postseason, including in Game 3 against the Tigers in the American League Division Series, where he allowed two runs in three innings at Comerica Park.
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In 2024, Cobb threw three pitches: 43.8% splitters, 43% sinkers and 13.2% curveballs.
His sinker averaged 93.8 mph induced ground balls; his splitter checked in at 98.2 mph and generated chase; his curveball averaged 83.2 mph with depth and produced called strikes early in counts. He also has past experience throwing a four-seam fastball.
Cobb is a 13-year MLB veteran with a reputation for being respected as a teammate.
He has pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays (2011-14, 2016-17), Baltimore Orioles (2018-20), Los Angeles Angels (2021), Giants (2022-23) and Guardians (2024).
Cobb, an All-Star for the only time in 2023, has a 3.84 ERA across 233 starts in his MLB career, spanning 1,327⅔ innings. He was selected in the fourth round of the 2006 MLB draft out of Vero Beach High School in Florida.
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The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal was first to report the signing.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers sign Alex Cobb to 1-year contract in MLB free agency
