DALLAS — The Detroit Tigers were in on the action during the first day of this year’s Winter Meetings. The team reached a one-year agreement with right-handed pitcher Alex Cobb, pending a physical. The team has not yet officially announced the deal, the salary is unknown and Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris can not yet speak directly about Cobb’s addition.
But one of Detroit’s key needs — a veteran starting pitcher on a short-term deal — has already been crossed off.
Cobb does not come with the brand-name recognition of Walker Buehler, but he nonetheless fits the profile of a pitcher the Tigers hope to optimize. Harris and Cobb have a history that dates back to 2022, when Cobb signed with the Giants while Harris was San Francisco’s general manager. Cobb had the best season of his career that year, posting a 3.73 ERA and registering 3.7 fWAR. He was an All-Star for the Giants in 2023 after a strong first half.
Free-agent right-hander Alex Cobb in agreement with Tigers on one-year contract, sources tell @TheAthletic. Deal is pending a physical.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 9, 2024
Now 37 years old, Cobb does come with questions centering on age and health. Cobb threw only 16 1/3 innings last season after the Giants traded him to the Cleveland Guardians at the trade deadline. Cobb missed most of the season recovering from hip surgery, and shoulder soreness pushed back his return date. He had Tommy John surgery back in 2016. Even after making his season debut with the Guardians, Cobb spent time on the injured list with a fingernail fracture and a blister. He had a 2.76 ERA in only three starts and allowed five runs in 5 2/3 postseason innings, which included a three-inning outing against the Tigers in Game 3 of the ALDS.
A few things the Tigers liked about Cobb:
• He’s limited walks throughout his career. Since the start of 2022, he’s averaged only 2.4 BB/9.
• Cobb historically keeps hitters on the ground and induces weak contact. In 2023, his 57 percent ground-ball rate ranked in MLB’s 95th percentile.
• He has neutral platoon splits. Right-handed batters have a career .708 OPS against Cobb and left-handers have a career .706 OPS. He throws a coveted platoon-neutral splitter in addition to a sinker and curveball.
• The Tigers believe Cobb can induce more strikeouts. Cobb has averaged more than nine K/9 only twice in his career. In 2021 and 2022, Cobb had whiff rates of greater than 30 percent with his splitter. The Tigers hope his overall whiff rate can improve with small tweaks to his arsenal.
• Cobb is also regarded as a great teammate and clubhouse presence. “We have a really high bar for who we can characterize as a veteran presence who would be a good influence on our guys,” Harris said with a grin, speaking generally. “Sometimes you’ve been with a guy before and that is helpful. It helps you know the character and the makeup and have some confidence that they’re in it for the right reasons.”
Perhaps the most interesting news to come out of Harris’ media session Monday at the Hilton Anatole hotel: The Tigers have asked both second baseman Colt Keith and outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy to begin taking ground balls at first base.
“We are not giving up on corner outfield and second base, respectively, for those two players, and we’re also not giving up on Spencer Torkelson,” Harris said. “It’s more of, when we stepped back and looked at our team in the second half last year, we don’t feel like we gave (manager A.J. Hinch) enough versatility, especially at first base. … We felt like that was an area that got exposed down the stretch. Having more options at first base, that can allow him to do what he does so well and find matchups, and I think that will make us a better team.”
Malloy having the ability to play first gives him a much better path to a roster spot. Despite an intriguing bat and respected plate approach (Malloy went 5-for-8 with two walks in the postseason), his status as a below-average outfielder limited his value. The ability to play first presents another way to get his bat in the order.
In the case of Keith, taking grounders at first not only serves as a prelude if he were to ever outgrow second base. It also gives the Tigers an immediate chance to either improve their middle-infield defense in-game or stack their lineup with lefty hitters against a right-handed starter. With the roster as it is currently constructed, Hinch could, for example, move Keith to first and insert Andy Ibáñez at second in the late innings. Or, he could begin a game with an all-left-handed infield of Jace Jung, Trey Sweeney, Zach McKinstry and Keith.
Are the Tigers seeking a third baseman?
The idea of Keith seeing time at first also seems to reinforce the idea the Tigers could be seeking a third baseman, either via free agency or the trade market. Keith playing first could open reps for Jace Jung at second base. The Tigers could then add a third baseman to the mix without blocking at-bats for a player like Jung, one of the young hitters the Tigers seem intent on building around. (Jung, for what it’s worth, underwent a minor wrist procedure in late October but is expected to be ready for the start of spring training.)
“He’s coming to spring to compete to win a job,” Harris said of Jung. “Exactly the opportunity that’s in front of him is going to depend on what we do the rest of the offseason. These situations change super quick with one free-agent signing or one trade or whatever.”
Tigers injury news: Jace Jung had a wrist procedure in October. He will be fully recovered in time for spring training pic.twitter.com/w4a5iYEZjd
— Cody Stavenhagen (@CodyStavenhagen) December 10, 2024
As rumors fly, it appears the Tigers will have Spencer Torkelson also compete for a roster spot in spring training. But Harris has simultaneously made clear the Tigers want to add more veterans to the order. It seems increasingly unlikely the Tigers will be big spenders, but their riddles hint they may add a veteran infielder before all is said and done.
“We want to improve our offense this offseason,” Harris said. “We feel like we have enough versatility to rearrange some of the pieces to fit just about any profile here. I don’t think it will be that difficult. I understand the question, but I think there are different ways to redistribute playing time and at-bats to allow players to still contribute to the team but also add from the outside.”
Worth noting
A relief pitcher remains on the Tigers’ winter shopping list, even as Harris listed off pitchers on the roster and indicated the Tigers feel good about their pitching depth. “Would I like to add to the bullpen? Yes, I would,” Harris said. “But we do have quite a bit of pitching right now, which is going to be really helpful.”
Harris indicated Dillon Dingler is expected to be on the Tigers’ Opening Day roster. The team is not seeking another catcher on a major-league deal and is optimistic Dingler will improve despite hitting .167 in his first 84 MLB at-bats. “I think it’s fair to say we feel really good about our catching group,” Harris said. “I think Jake (Rogers) and Ding compare very favorably to most catching tandems in the league from a blocking, framing, throwing, game-calling standpoint. Defensively I think they’re as good as most, if not better than, the catching tandems around the league. And then offensively, they both can change the score with one swing, which is something you can’t really find at that position very regularly.”
The Tigers altered Kenta Maeda’s training program last season, around the time the beleaguered starter moved to the bullpen. The Tigers saw small gains in Maeda’s stuff and worked to give Maeda a strong plan for the offseason. Maeda has started throwing and lifting earlier than ever before and has had regular check-ins with the Tigers’ staff. After his 6.09 ERA last season, Maeda will make $10 million this year, the final year of his contract. “He’s pretty determined to rewrite the story of his Tigers tenure,” Harris said. “I don’t think he had the year that any of us expected him to have last year. … We’ve seen a much more determined version of him and an open-minded one that is willing to modify some of the training routines he’s done for years and try to get a little more out of his body. We’re really excited to see what it looks like when he gets back.”
The Tigers are planning for Jackson Jobe to be in their rotation at some point next season, but they’re not deadset on Jobe making the team out of camp. “We think he’s gonna be in our rotation at some point,” Harris said. “We just can’t confidently say that we know when until we see how he looks in spring training and how the rest of the starters look.”
The Tigers were happy to re-sign right-handed pitcher Wilmer Flores on a minor-league deal despite designating him for assignment on Nov. 22. Flores, a hard-thrower who was in the Futures Game only two years ago, struggled and battled injuries last season. He will likely work as a reliever going forward. “If you have a big, physical frame with an upper-90s velocity and extension fastball, that’s a pretty good starting place for a guy who could be a good reliever for us,” Harris said.
(Photo: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
