Minnesota Twins need to sign Alex Cobb and go all-in
By Zach Houle
Alex Cobb is the best free agent starting pitcher left on the market, but where should he sign?
After a slow winter hot stove season, right-handed pitcher Alex Cobb is still waiting for a team to sign him.
Why hasn’t anyone gone for him yet? He is a reliable starting pitcher who can strike guys out. Part of the problem is the luxury tax threshold, where a lot of teams didn’t want to go over. Also, maybe Cobb’s asking price is too high. There some players that could’ve had a hefty contract earlier in the offseason, such as Jonathan Lucroy and Mike Moustakas. Front offices don’t want to pay for past production, but for what a player will do now and the future.
One fit for Alex Cobb could be the Minnesota Twins. Yes, they just signed Cobb’s competition in Lance Lynn, but they should take advantage and nab him. Minnesota’s biggest weakness was the starting rotation, and they improved by acquiring Jake Odorizzi and Lynn. Although, dipping into more financial resources to sign Cobb wouldn’t be a bad idea. The club is going to be without Ervin Santana for some time, in which the team added arms. The Twins have an interesting team, and adding Cobb would further push them to be a threat to the Cleveland Indians.
One more logical fit could be the Baltimore Orioles. The club has lacked in the starting pitching department for a while now. They did sign righty Andrew Cashner earlier in the offseason, but adding another arm couldn’t hurt. With ownership reluctant in starting a rebuild, the Orioles should go all in with Manny Machado’s final year of control.
If Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy pitch to their capabilities, inserting Cobb would compliment them. With that said, Baltimore will have an uphill battle for the American League East, so they could use all the arms they can get.
Investing in starting pitching is a great move, and Cobb isn’t very much of a risk. He has been a consistent pitcher his whole career, and now probably wouldn’t cost much. Lance Lynn just signed a one-year deal worth $12 million, so that’s the peak of what Cobb could fetch. The righty tossed a 3.66 ERA in 179.1 innings in 2017. So, whoever gets him will have a workhorse who has control and a veteran who knows how to pitch in tough situations.
Next: Will Twins offseason matter much?
Although they just signed Lynn, the Twins could use another reliable arm in an increasingly competitive rotation to combat Cleveland. Pitching with a lineup that will score a bunch of runs will help him out as well.