Alex Cobb:12-10, 3.66 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 128/44 K/BB, 179.1 IP
Four years, $57 million, full no-trade clause for 2018 and partial no-trade clause after
After signing Andrew Cashner a month ago, the Orioles again added to their rotation with righty Alex Cobb, signing him to a four year deal worth $57 million. As I wrote with Cashner, the Orioles rotation last season was downright awful, but swapping Ubaldo Jimenez and Wade Miley for the incoming Cashner and Cobb is certainly an upgrade. It's not enough to give the Orioles even an average rotation, but it's something. Cobb's deal is actually close to market value, unlike those written below in the email. From 2013-2014, Cobb was one of the better pitchers in baseball, going 21-12 with a 2.82 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP over 49 starts for the Rays, but he missed all of 2015 and was limited to five starts in 2016 before bouncing back in 2017. This past year, he wasn't quite as good as he was in 2013-2014, but a 3.66 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP over a career high 29 starts were still valuable and enough to make him a reliable mid-rotation arm. His 17.3% strikeout rate was down from 22.5% from 2013-2014. However, his 5.9% walk rate was the lowest of his career and much lower than the 7.3% rate from 2013-2014, showing that Cobb is aware of where he stands now as a pitcher post-injury and has made the necessary adjustments. That's always a good sign. For his career, the Vero Beach, Florida native is 48-35 with a 3.50 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP over 115 starts, all with the Rays.
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